The UK’s new age verification law goes into effect this week. How will it impact our favorite apps?

As young people spend an increasing amount of time online, countries have been implementing more and more internet safety laws to keep them safe.

New safety measures

One such law is the UK’s Online Safety Act. It became ratified into law on October 26, 2023, but certain aspects of the law have been introduced in stages, as overseen by UK regulator Ofcom.

One such measure, which is due to be implemented today, requires all online platforms to implement a more stringent age-verification mechanism. Different platforms are implementing this change in different ways.

Dating apps like Feeld and Tinder will attempt to age-verify users based on a selfie sent to them. Bumble has already had selfie age verification for a long time, and will soon be introducing ID verification. Meanwhile, Hinge told Mashable that it also takes measures to verify users’ identities, including phone numbers, birth dates, photos, and bios.

Reddit, which is known for its extensive NSFW content alongside its more typical content, has partnered with third-party age verification provider Persona. This checks selfies and government IDs to confirm ages. In a post, Reddit stressed that it would not have access to this information.

Elsewhere, Discord also announced that it would be partnering with third-party platform k-iD, which would require users to verify their age either through facial scanning or by taking a photo of their ID.

Privacy concerns abound

These stricter measures have left netizens concerned about their privacy, with the implication being that many will have their data and photos stored by third-party apps or the app itself. Based on these fears, reactions to this have been largely negative, especially when it comes to Reddit‘s updates.

“So you’re asking for users’ personal data (a photo ID no less), and asking us to trust a US-based company with the information of millions of users, when we’ve already known that the U.S. isn’t GDPR-compliant and is been pretty prickly about EU’s standards,” one Redditor wrote.

“Well, much like Twitter, it’s now time to move on from Reddit,” they conclude.

Another asked, “Is Reddit just watching or is it fighting against such legislation?”

While a third added: “If you offered a verification option that is based in the UK and fully compliant with all regulations, such as GDPR, I might consider it. As it is, I’ll either just use a VPN or not come here anymore. 3rd party promises mean nothing.”

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