YouTube is officially testing a new age verification feature in the United States, attempting to estimate the ages of users regardless of the account’s listed birthdate. Online safety has been a hot-button issue throughout recent months, with many developers and platforms looking to implement stricter age verification measures. Several platforms like Discord and Xbox have already begun to roll out new ways to confirm a user’s age, many using AI to assess a person’s age from their photos. Now, YouTube is joining this growing trend.

Age verification and the increased push for online safety for children has reached a critical point in recent weeks, partially due to a new law enacted in the United Kingdom. The “Online Safety Act” kicked into action earlier this month, restricting access to adult content and horror games within the region. Steam has even taken this further, removing over 100 horror and adult-themed games from its marketplace. YouTube is now among the latest platforms to adopt age verification, but not in the UK.

YouTube’s initiative has seen significant backlash from users, particularly towards its verification methods. Despite acknowledging that many users doubt the accuracy of its age estimation functionality, YouTube confirmed that this system was already implemented in other regions. Users can verify their age using government-issued ID, a photo, or a credit card. Online safety rules from platforms and local governments are likely to continue evolving, though fans are already exploring ways to exploit the system. Some users in the UK have discovered that Death Stranding’s photo mode can bypass verification systems, falsely identifying screenshots as real images. Many suggest that using VPNs allows for easier circumvention of age verification checks, leading the ongoing conversation about keeping younger users safe online to persist as more companies join the contentious movement.