Thanks to iOS 26.4 for sponsoring this vote. /s

In this new update, users with UK Apple Accounts are asked to verify their age via a credit card, or an ID scan. (there seems to be an Account age check too — if the Apple Account is old enough then no additional steps are required.)

I don’t know what Apple’s ID verification implementation looks like, and I hope it is either in-house (no third party) or offline (some vision model validates the ID locally, then send a “yeah” bit back to Apple), but this Age Verification flow seems to be designed to be low friction, compared to other flows that require a selfie video to a third party website.

BUT.
BUT.
BUT.

More people would go along with the low friction flow, because, well, it’s easier, it’s faster, there’s fewer unknown shady companies involved. I used to draw the line there — I used to think giving out credit card info or mobile phone number for age verification is fine (since the information is already out there).

Then, a friend who upgraded to iOS 26.4 but have not verified her age could no longer access some websites because the Web Content Filter (and Messages Communications Safety) are automatically turned on until age verification is completed.

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mate, if you can’t do what you want on a device unless some server somewhere has to have the “correct” boolean, you don’t own that device.

(this leaves an interesting question, is this a device-level restriction or an account-level restriction? will an iPhone that does not have an Apple Account associated be subject to this limitation?)

@kuriko I said self-certification only but it really depends upon what you’re doing it for

fwiw the card networks are moving towards offering age verification for debit cards (your bank knows how old you are), which is an interesting development

@kuriko Depends a lot what for I need to do the age verification, and what they need from me anyways – and what information they store.

Online shop getting the information that I'm 18 from my Credit Card company? Fine. Some random social media site getting my full credit card information incl birth date, RL name, etc? Nope.

Convention checking my ID card at on-site registration to make sure they are not bringing a minor into trouble? Fine. Some random phone app asking for a scan of my ID card? Nope.

DHL delivery person checking that they're not handing out my adult toy delivery to a minor? Fine. Me having to do a video call with someone in the US otherwise I can't open a support ticket after updating my phone OS? Nope.

@kuriko the idea is already too much. Trust me if we agree with a checkbox. The next step will become creating a photo of your face.

Then the next step after that, will be uploading your ID. Etc. Etc.

@kuriko For computers, the person getting the device or registering an account is adult, with no verification to be done. They might setup limitations for themselves or other users. (I think this was the usual before the current changes in some platforms.) The problem of children as property of parents is unrelated and not solvable via technical methods.

I want content warnings, but I don't feel a self-certifying checkbox is that, so I'm not selecting this here.

Generally, if we want identify verification, then we need methods that a random person can verify as private (something like paper-based voting), this is not doable with computers unless trusting the user declaring that they are who they think they are.

If politicians want to protect children, they can enforce existing laws. Maybe there would be no real problem solved by age verification if billionaires and their businesses weren't allowed to commit crimes.