I'm reading the message on my profile page about age verification coming soon. I'm sure that I scanned my passport/ driving licence on the site when I got a "green tick." Is this sufficient? I might struggle with the age verification app, because I use a desktop PC rather than a smartphone with camera. Thanks, Peter

Thanks for the heads up - I haven't looked at my profile page recently.

According to the pop-up:
"To comply with new worldwide regulations, UMD will soon ask visitors from certain regions to complete age verification. Depending on local laws, UMD may block certain content or pages until your age is verified by a trusted 3rd party. This is separate from producer-verification which comes with the green checkmark."

I think the last sentence is the most relevant for your question.

I would start using a VPN. Given all the security breaches that have happened with companies I had to give information to, I am not going to choose to give my information to any other companies. Not everywhere in the world will require an ID. All you will have to do is pick a VPN server in one of those countries and you will be good to go. MM will be following the laws so he doesn't get into any trouble and we can still enjoy being here.

I'm sure I speak for at least a few others when I say that a big part of being online for me is that I'm as close as I can be anonymous. That means the smallest footprint of myself online, and virtually zero footprint of my online life on any of my devices. It's as much about being free from my real life as it is not wanting others seeing my viewing habits. I know you're never completely anonymous online, but I know where personal my line is. I can't see myself sticking around here (or anywhere else) once there are no corners of the globe safe from this invasive law. I won't be scanning my passport to view smut sites.

Verifying my 27 and a half year old account to prove I am greater than 18, 21 or 25 is rather counter intuitive.

For me, I'm a little confused about having to age verify when Australia doesn't have any age verification laws with regards to UMD.

Only a few sites deemed 'social media' are currently going to require 'age verification', and they aren't going to be introduced until 10 December 2025.

Some advice on Age Verification would be very much appreciated - especially given I don't trust uploading ID documents through a phone (especially given that would, by rights, give Apple unfettered access to my ID for its own purposes).

I'm very confused as well. Why am I getting this message in Germany? First with having to giving ID to post nudes and now with giving ID to view nudes... it seems like the site is just going to shutdown, no? You can't possibly get enough people to agree to this to stay profitable, can you?

I hear that... My age ID verification with UMD, already confirmed...

This morning, same as yesterday, exploring the cave of wam enthusiasts. ( Away for 2 months).

One store page is completely blocked out, a notice I must do as you said.
Yesterday, all open to view, as the last 2 days.

I logged out, and back in, completing my purchase, not suffering anymore age blocks.
Just the once, forcing me to exit...

I get it, & ask the same question... Am I not already age identified, in my 50s.
Had I not seen that, just now, totally unaware. & I blocked the site from running scripts.

How many office people scroll facial recognition data of countless individuals, and their photo ID information.
How does moral and ethical compliance, under the UDHR, manage the service, owned and controlled by Whom..
We have a RIGHT to know, whose spying on our every private, on-line activity.
No shit, MM. No offence, but this is total garbage.
No more VIP for me...

Not giving any digital external police entity access to my phone, actual photograph, and privacy. Agreed...

Thanks to our wretched Government here in the UK we have the new Online Safety Act which they are using to prevent free speech under the guise that it protects children. When we get a change of power this Act will be overturned, but until then our freedom is being curtailed. Thankfully the US Government do not support this and you guys on the other side of the pond are safe for now. Reluctantly I downloaded the Yoti app and have verified my age. I am a technophobe, but I found it easy enough. You only have to do it once and if it means I continue to enjoy access to all of this great site so be it.

I am also confused why I am being asked to verify my age as I am in Canada and Canada does not currently have such laws.

A reddit snippet from a parallel Age Verication service, offered in the UK.

"THIS will NEED fact-checking for accuracy".

Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/BlueskySocial/comments/1m7xi2f/kws_age_verification_provider_concerns_exposed/?chainedPosts=t3_1m9i0hk


""KWS age verification provider concerns exposed
News/Updates

"Irish data compliance lawyer and blogger Simon McGarr dug around and found out. You have to give permission for an enormous amount of your personal data, including payment card details, phone number, address, face scan, national ID numbers and documents, access to your device details, when, where, and for how often you do things online, and on and on.

This is by way of building what Epic describes as a corporate asset of a database to do with as it wishes. McGarr has been reading the fine print: "If we are involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, we may share your personal information with the acquiring or receiving entity.""

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/selling-your-digital-soul-to-use-blueskys-dms-isnt-just-a-bad-idea-its-the-law/ar-AA1IYRJr

So, it's not a simple 'age verification check', you're giving huge amounts of personal data to an offshore corporate entity who can do with your data whatever they want.""


The concept is identical to what we face here... Any Comments?

More , because of corporate privacy raping.

Just to confirm, is age verification a one time thing per account? i.e. i can download app, show my face one time, use the app to verify here, and then clear the app from phone and try to forget it ever happened?

Technically yes you should be able to do that. Removing the app from your phone will not remove your data from their system in the case of a data breach.

Agreed. I'm Australian here and confused. I guess because UMD is in the UK right @Messmaster?

This is very frustrating. In most circumstances a quick selfie is enough with most of these age verification platforms however Yoti seems much stricter as when I try to use it, it wants proper ID verification to create your Yoti ID. I don't have a valid passport and don't have a driver's license. It's not letting me verify any other way so that's me practically locked out on doing anything on here. It fucking sucks

What you saw was a classic Messmaster slip-up Age verification is still being worked on, and the actual blocks won't be put in place until early next year. I've already been working on it for months, and I'm putting together an announcement to explain everything which I'll post next week. Meanwhile, please see our FAQ to get an idea of what's going on with age verification. So nothing is being blocked right now... and I didn't mean to cause a stir!

Talk to yall soon

What is User Verification?
Info on age verification services

Thanks, Messmaster, for the links and clarification.
I appreciate that you have a momentous job to do, especially as a world-wide site covers so many different legal requirements in different countries.
And I have absolutely no problem with age verification in itself; under 18's should be protected.
I note your hope to include alternative ways of doing the verification in the future, but it's unfortunate that the current, "green tick," can't be used.
Rating content must be another huge issue, as opinions as to what counts as what must vary?
Thanks anyway; let's all stay onboard.

Peter

Yoti isn't working for me, I can't get the code on my mobile phone + problem I can't download app from google play store it says isn't supported in my country, or something like that, I tried to install from other android app store, bu isn't working

Can we keep a list of countries that don't require this? Makes speed dialing the VPN a little easier for everyone.

(I use Argentina BTW)

Not as safe as you might think.

There are states like texas which will require age verification for all new app store accounts, and anyone under the age of 18 will have to be part of a family, and the parents have to approve every app the minor downloads, regardless of content. The shining example being weather. I think it went to the supreme court and they upheld the law.

I've heard more laws, and more restrictions are on the horizon.

You are 100% correct. If you want to know how "safe" the US is with age verification, look at the states that have been banned by pornhub because they do not want to do age verification.

That is very worrying because Trump tells us in the UK that he supports our free speech. I am gutted that since all this interference from the stoopid politicians here in the UK this site is losing younger UK members. I am sure that I am not the only one who has noticed a decline in UK posting on here and a lot of my friends have left or cannot log on due to issues with age verification controls here etc...
Sad times, so much for freedom in 21st Century!

This is part of the reason I refuse to age verify. To put some context to this compromise. The ID's of minors that had them were also exposed. So protecting the children is just bullshit.

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2025/oct/09/hack-age-verification-firm-discord-users-id-photos


Then, just as a heads up because I am full of all kinds of good news today, based on some things that some douche bag politicians in Britain said about using a VPN to bypass age verification, some states have started this shit.

https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/how-a-new-bill-tries-to-ban-both-adult-content-online-and-vpn-use-and-if-it-could-work/

No thought to the ethical and necessary uses of VPN's by companies and IT professionals. Let's write bills to try and force ISP's to track and penalize people passing VPN traffic.

That's exactly my concern. After multiple instances of data breaches (and especially Discord's age verification data leak), I can't even trust that these tech companies won't store snapshots of personal documents for whatever shady reasons (given that there's always the question of how they stay financially afloat) and ESPECIALLY if they're based in another country. The price of constantly dealing with your info being stolen by breachers or passed down to transnational data brokers, and abused for identity theft and scams, is just too high.

It's bad enough I have my personal info tied to local governments and service providers, and those always get funneled to telescammers who use it to social engineer the best they can. I've had it with this crap.

I did a while ago. Took a while for Yoti to process my age so I didn't post anything bc I didn't want to get into trouble. It was a bit confusing and MM is trying his best do his thing.

Finally worked weird tho to be giving a 3rd party my info but hey I chose to be here so I just follow the rules!

Trixxi