Here are 6 sites requiring age verification – will you be affected?

Following the introduction of the Online Safety Act in the UK on July 25, age verification checks are now required on a number of sites.

At the time, people turned to the best VPNs in an attempt to bypass these age checks and subsequently major VPN providers saw spikes in sign ups – along with suspect free VPNs.

The law was designed to protect children and vulnerable internet users from easily accessing harmful content.

However serious privacy and cybersecurity risks were raised, mainly due to the sensitive data needing to be handed over. The UK experienced passionate debate over the act and cybersecurity experts called it a "disaster waiting to happen."

Age verification laws are also spreading across the US. 25 states have passed age verification bills, with Arizona's the next to come into effect.

Like the UK, US laws are aim to prevent children from accessing adult content online. It isn't clear if US websites beyond adult entertainment would require these checks.

But in the UK, age verification checks appeared on a number of websites, including some you may not have expected. There was anger over this, and many asked if the checks were necessary.

We've highlighted some key sites where UK users encountered age verification checks.

Notable examples

X

Age verification came to social media app X – but it's wasn't simple. Many UK users received a message saying "Due to local laws, we are temporarily restricting access to this content until X estimates your age."

Some users found they didn't need to verify their age. Accounts created in 2012 or earlier were automatically verified, along with anyone who had already verified their age in the past.

User age verification involves submitting government-issued ID or a live selfie. Age will then be estimated by X's AI systems but X says it also uses Au10ticx and Persona for non-creators.

However in our experience, on a free X plan, we couldn't find a way to complete age verification. This correlates with some reports on Reddit that suggested only X Premium subscribers could verify age. But others suggested that even after subscribing, ID checks were required or even offline completely.

Reddit

Reddit is a hugely popular forum-based social media site and now employs age verification. Checks were introduced on July 14, prior to the Online Safety Act becoming law.

Communities labelled as NSFW (Not Safe For Work), along with those that include content relating to alcohol or gambling, now require age verification before they can be accessed.

Persona is the third-party Reddit is using to verify a user's age, with a selfie or government ID having to be uploaded.

Reddit says it does not have access to the uploaded photo. The site only stores your verification status and the birthdate provided at account creation. It says Persona doesn't retain your photo for longer than 7 days and doesn't have access to your Reddit data.

A number of Reddit users have expressed concern that subreddits have been unfairly affected by age verification checks and shouldn't have been blocked. Subreddits discussing mental health, sobriety, addiction, and news reports are some of the examples given.

The BBC reported that posts about the conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine had been blocked.

Spotify

Perhaps the most surprising site or app on this list, music streaming service Spotify seemingly introduced age verification.

Spotify said that age checks are required in order to access "some Spotify content and features." Music videos that are tagged 18+ are an example of this content.

Yoti is the third-party provider Spotify is using, with facial age estimation and ID verification in place. In its Safety and Privacy Centre, Spotify says Yoti deletes all user data "after the age assurance process is complete."

Users that couldn't prove their age were told their Spotify accounts may be deactivated and eventually deleted.

Xbox

Microsoft said it was bringing age verification to Xbox as part of its "compliance programme for the UK Online Safety Act" and to ensure "age-appropriate experiences."

It also uses Yoti and says it offers four forms of age verification – age estimation, ID verification, mobile provider check, and credit card check.

For age estimation and ID verification, Microsoft says "the image is encrypted and deleted after use/verification." For mobile provider and credit card checks, it says "the submitted information is not stored or shared beyond the initial check."

For now, Xbox age verification is optional but "access to certain social features will be limited to friends only" if checks are not completed by "early 2026."

Until your account is verified, you'll only be able to use the following features with friends only:

• Voice and text communication
• Party functionality and game invites
• User generated content (including Activity Feed)

Looking for Group and custom clubs features won't be available.

Bluesky

X alternative Bluesky also asked users to verify their age. It is using Epic Games' Kid Web Services to give users a choice over verification.

Credit card checks (verified by Stripe), ID scans (verified by Veriff), and face scans (verified by Yoti) are the three ways Brits can verify their age on Bluesky.

Bluesky said it'll "make adult-appropriate content inaccessible" for any users who don't want to verify or are underage – this includes direct messaging.

Telegram

Seen as a popular alternative to WhatsApp and one of the best encrypted messaging apps, Telegram is a secure messaging service that is implementing age verification checks.

Telegram's privacy policy states that it is offering "optional" age verification checks to "comply with regional legal requirements."

Age checks are completed via a facial scan, which runs on your device. Telegram says: "Facial images and biometric data are not uploaded to or stored on our servers, are not accessible to Telegram, and are deleted after the age estimation is completed."

However Telegram does say it "may store the age estimation result and certain metadata" on its servers to "track performance and prevent misuse."

If age verification is not completed, certain content will be blurred or its access will be blocked.

Any form of age verification can still be seen as a cybersecurity risk and pose issues for online privacy. But Telegram doesn't appear to be using any third-party age verification providers and this does mean there is a significant reduction in risk.

Other cases

This is not an exhaustive list of websites and apps that now require age verification but some popular examples. Others who have introduced age verification include Discord, Grindr, and Nexus Mods.

Wikipedia may also have to introduce age verification checks. However, the Wikimedia Foundation attempted to fight the regulations, arguing they "endanger Wikipedia and the global community of volunteer contributors."

On August 11 the High Court of Justice dismissed the challenge, a decision which was welcomed by the UK government.

On September 12, The Wikimedia Foundation said it "will not appeal" the decision. However it will continue to monitor guidance and how Wikipedia will be protected.

What happens next?

A petition calling on the UK government to repeal the Online Safety Act exceeded 500,000 signatures.

The government has said it won't repeal the act and it's unlikely this petition will do anything, but it does show a layer of opposition and concern surrounding the law.

Some argue that the government hasn't fully thought the law through or explored more private age verification options – we're not surprised the act doesn't cover personal data safety.

Given the rise in VPN usage, people clearly don't feel comfortable in handing over their sensitive personal information.

The act has prompted important discussions concerning online privacy and it remains to be seen how these will develop in the coming months.

An additional question is will the US follow suit? For now, age verification laws vary from state to state, so how they are implemented may differ. Arizona's bill calls for "reasonable" age checks in order to access adult content. We don't yet know how many websites will be subject to these checks.

An increase in age verification laws may result in an increase in VPN usage, as people look to avoid them. This may then lead to greater attacks on VPNs themselves.

Despite some in the UK calling for VPN access to be limited, the government said it would not ban VPNs in the UK.

But in the US, we have seen bills proposing VPN bans. Lawmakers in Michigan have called for a total VPN ban as part of a proposed "Public Morals Act." This is a very dangerous move and cannot become the norm.