Xbox starts Age Verification in the UK: What users need to know

Xbox is rolling out new procedures for letting U.K. players verify their identity, Microsoft announced today, Monday, July 28, via Xbox Wire.

This comes shortly after the introduction of the country's Online Safety Act, which is ostensibly framed around the protection of younger users by requiring verification to ensure someone is 18 before viewing adult content online.

Starting today, Xbox users who have their age set to 18 or over in the U.K. and sign in to their Xbox profiles will see a recommendation to verify their identity.

"...Players who indicate their account age as 18 and over, based in the UK, and signing into an Xbox experience with a Microsoft account will begin seeing notifications encouraging them to verify their age. This one-time process for players in the UK ensures we can continue to provide all players on our platform with age-appropriate experiences."

At some point early next year, users who fall into the above category and do not verify their age will be limited to playing online with friends. This won't have any impact on buying games and add-ons, or any other non-social features.

Websites like Discord and Reddit now require facial identification (something enterprising users are fooling by using the remarkably detailed character designs in Death Stranding 2), drawing criticism of censorship, privacy concerns, and worries of government overreach.

So, what can you use to verify your age? Microsoft explains that there are several options available, including "government-issued ID, age estimation, mobile provider check, and credit card check."

You can start the age verification process via your Microsoft account using your mobile device or by accessing the web at the following link:

• Age verification: https://aka.ms/XboxUKAgeVerification

Online age verification isn't something that will be isolated to those in the UK. Microsoft goes on to explain that, "We expect to roll out age verification processes to more regions in the future. There is no one-size-fits-all solution to player safety, so these methods may look different across regions and experiences."

People are finding ways to bypass age verification

The new Online Safety Act went into effect last week, requiring people to prove their age before being allowed to access adult websites. Many people aren't happy with this change and are looking for ways to avoid complying.

As was previously alluded to, some have even found a way of getting around the issue using Death Stranding's photo mode. You see, one option for age verification includes sending a picture with your mouth open, so users have been using Death Stranding's Photo mode to get up close to protagonist Sam Porter's face. Then, they open his mouth and use him to fulfill the requested image.

As my colleague, Sean Endicott, pointed out, the fact that this age verification system can be tricked so easily shows that it isn't a very robust system.

Seeing as how this workaround has been brought to light, though, it's possible that the image scanning option could get updated in the coming weeks to prevent this bypass from working.