iOS 26.4 age verification

[Peter Franks]

I just find it odd that even a 16 year old Apple ID wouldn't indicate that I was over 18. There are many in the UK who don't have driving licenses or credit cards, only debit cards. I've always had a debit card in Apple wallet, as do most people who use it.

People will now unnecessarily be applying for credit cards all over the place, just for this ridiculousness, that they don't want, and many will be rejected, and it will blot their credit rating.

It's bad enough with the government here trying to control every part of our lives, but now we have to take this from a company who many of us have spent a considerable amount of money with on iPads, iPhones and Macs. I'm not alone in this feeling of resentment towards them I'm sure.

Has anyone rolled back to 26.3.1, or is this now connected to your Apple ID if you've installed 24 initially. and not passed verification?

 

[PowerHarryG4]

I’m all for the online safety act restricting content to protect children. Long overdue. However this sounds arduous at best.

Does anyone have a list of what services are restricted before you complete age verification?

I've installed 26.4 and I'm just going to leave my account unverified. A few things are now enabled by default from what I can see. The web content filter is enabled in screen time restrictions - this means NSFW websites are blocked by default. Communication Safety is also enabled - I'm pretty sure this blurs nudity when receiving or sending images. These are the only two changes I could see.

I haven't found any issue with downloading 18+ applications - it all seems to be completely unrestricted on my account.

 

[ForkHandles]

Account vacated.

 

[James6s]

I don’t have a credit card so I can’t use one in my wallet, only have a debit card. Also it won’t scan my driving license as the alternative method.

 

[ForkHandles]

Account vacated.

 

[iosuser21]

It would be if this was happening in the US!

It is but only in certain states though we see if it survies court challenges at some point Also for our uk users the next bill there trying to pass is worst

-- though wont that destroy battary life!

To me the fact apple slide this throw without warning leave me uneasy.Also why the heck did the goverment not allow our bank to act as a verifcation for us debit card only users!

 

[ForkHandles]

Account vacated.

 

[Peter Franks]

Which part of your life are the government now controlling Peter? I've lived here for 55 years and my day to day life has hardly changed one iota in that time. I'm still not allowed to do murder, theft and other nasty mean things.

If you honestly haven't noticed the impact of this government, you’re clearly living in a very fortunate bubble, because for the rest of the country dealing with two-tier realities and a global loss of standing, the change is impossible to miss. I’ll leave it at that as we’re not on a political forum.

 

[ForkHandles]

Account vacated.

 

[steve62388]

Well it is for me as I can't turn it on as the option is greyed out

You can’t turn it on now, but if you already had it enabled before the change then it’s still active.

 

[steve62388]

I've installed 26.4 and I'm just going to leave my account unverified. A few things are now enabled by default from what I can see. The web content filter is enabled in screen time restrictions - this means NSFW websites are blocked by default. Communication Safety is also enabled - I'm pretty sure this blurs nudity when receiving or sending images. These are the only two changes I could see.

I haven't found any issue with downloading 18+ applications - it all seems to be completely unrestricted on my account.

You can’t use browser extensions either. I have an adblocker and one that forces dark mode on websites.

 

[BSDnostalgia]

You can’t use browser extensions either. I have an adblocker and one that forces dark mode on websites.

Conspiracy theory bait for sure. Maybe this is backtracking on ad blocking. It fits along with ads in Maps. The bait is blocking youth access to porn, but, the real goal is 24x7x365 ads. Now I'm getting worked up.

 

[Abydos]

can't help to wonder how the authorities would react to a death certificate as proof of age

 

[NUFC2025]

can't help to wonder how the authorities would react to a death certificate as proof of age

I am close to getting one of them 😁

 

[super chimp]

It is but only in certain states though we see if it survies court challenges at some point Also for our uk users the next bill there trying to pass is worst

-- though wont that destroy battary life!

To me the fact apple slide this throw without warning leave me uneasy.Also why the heck did the goverment not allow our bank to act as a verifcation for us debit card only users!

The same groups pushing this here are also pushing this at the federal level in the US, as well as many other countries.

 

[NUFC2025]

I think all of this age verification thing will be brought in by every big tech company eventually.
It's a slippery slope we are on.

 

[vanishing]

I think all of this age verification thing will be brought in by every big tech company eventually.
It's a slippery slope we are on.

Almost all of them, but some will retain integrity

Android-Based GrapheneOS Refuses Age Verification, May Exit Regions That Enforce It

The privacy-focused Android fork would rather lose market access than collect user data at setup.

itsfoss.com

 

[NUFC2025]

Almost all of them, but some will retain integrity

View attachment 2617808

Android-Based GrapheneOS Refuses Age Verification, May Exit Regions That Enforce It

The privacy-focused Android fork would rather lose market access than collect user data at setup.

itsfoss.com

Thanks for that link. Interesting read.

 

[Populus]

how about apple "using" the debit card already linked to my apple-id account as the default payment method?

that card is already there, is already verified by apple as valid and everything..

i dont want to scan another card..
i dont want to scan my passport..
i dont want to scan my driving license..

Not in UK, and not affected by this -so far-, but it really irritates me to not be considered an adult if my payment cards are debit cards. What on Earth?

I mean, even the debit cards are called in the Apple ecosystem credit cards, in all the phrasing like “please enter your credit card” when it can be a debit card.

I’m not sure if you can have a debit card before the 18 but I, as an adult, haven’t accepted a credit card, even when my bank insists.

Debit, in my opinion, is the safest, and the sensible payment method to use: you only pay from the money you have. You don’t have money left to spend? Then you wait until you have money again.

Big exceptions for this are those items we’ll need before we can pay for them entirely: a house and maybe a car, or the university if it’s expensive where you live. But day to day expenses? Asking credit to buy an iPhone because this month I don’t have enough money left in my bank account? Learn to save! Otherwise you won’t be able to pay that credit plus the interest rates…

I’ve never understood the nature, the reason, of credit cards. And the fact that those are the ones that demonstrate you’re an adult, and not the debit cards… is curious to say the least.

 

[ForkHandles]

Account vacated

 

[PowerHarryG4]

You can’t use browser extensions either. I have an adblocker and one that forces dark mode on websites.

Oh yes, hadn’t noticed that. They were already enabled so now I simply can’t turn them off. This one might actually be a deal breaker for me depending on when if I need to add extensions in the future.

I’m actually not opposed to verifying my age with Apple. I just wish they explained how they’re using our IDs. We don’t even know if they’re sending them through a third party company.

 

[PowerHarryG4]

I've sent a request through Apple's Privacy Inquiries to try and find more information about how this is all working. Here is what I've sent:

Dear Apple Privacy Team,

I am writing to request detailed information about the age verification system recently implemented on iOS 26.4, particularly in relation to compliance with the UK's Online Safety Act.

Could you please clarify the following:

- Is any third-party service involved in the age verification process? If so, which provider(s) are used, and what data is shared?

- What personal data is collected, stored, or processed during age verification, and for how long is it retained?

- How is user privacy protected during this process, especially when sensitive documents like IDs are submitted?

- What are the user’s rights to access, correct, or delete data collected through age verification?

I am seeking this information to better understand how Apple ensures compliance with data protection regulations such as UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

Thank you for your time and transparency. I look forward to your response.

I'll put another comment into here when I get a response.

 

[uacd]

The report that the video uses is published by The Liberty Beacon.

Claude says;
“”Media Bias/Fact Check rates it as far-right, conspiracy/pseudoscience, with low factual reporting and low credibility. It routinely publishes conspiracy theories and pseudoscience, including anti-vaccination content, chemtrail claims, New World Order theories, and false flag allegations. Its sources are described as predominantly other questionable or conspiracy-oriented sites such as Natural News, InfoWars, and Mercola.””

In other words, they need to make you angry, don’t expect the full truth. In fact expect a half baked story that contains some facts and some rubbish to make you angry.

All AI Chatbots usually break after a single question: “Who are the fact-checkers?” and about their credibility.

These days it is very simple to bury all important information by throwing it into “conspiracy” trashbin.

What is even more alarming is that so many “conspiracies” these days turned true.

Information should be accepted as is, as well as shared free by everyone. Information has no “owner” - right or left, it is either a fact or lie. And it is a well-know fact certain governments in the world such as UK gov have reportedly said they will be limiting privacy rights of their citizens. This was only a start, and this has triggered major discussions back then.

Even the measures that Apple has implemented in iOS 26.4 are draconian. Law initially was about limiting access to p**n. But Apple decided to use this catch-all approach instead. In fact now all people who want to be able to download apps need age verification, even for the apps that seemed innocent. But stuff like this would have looked like a conspiracy theory back in 2019🙂

 

[ForkHandles]

Account vacated.

 

[uacd]

The uncomfortable truth here is that we have an epidemic of kids suffering with anxiety and phone addiction. That’s a little more important than your access to rudy nudie videos.

But shouldn’t they have passed it to parents to monitor instead? It is a good cause, but maybe way too extreme. Looks like a perfect way to limit access to political discourse for kids. Not saying they can vote, but that looks like a perfect opportunity to make them “dumb until they are 18”, which is also stupid idea: how are young individuals supposed to vote if they couldn’t have access to information?

Anxiety and phone addiction in my opinion are the inevitable outcomes of “digitalization” of everything. Data shows that anxiety is mostly caused by the education system and lack of parental guidance. So imagine a modern family: everyone sits on the coach in their phones, or… only parents because kids cannot, they barely talk to each other and do not discuss anything like a family. This neither solves the problem nor creates ways to counter it. Moreover lack of communication creates even more anxiety and depression.

While this law would not backfire, it won’t solve the issue of “youth anxiety”, because the causes are much more rooted into the flawed system where kids understand they are preparing for useless exams at school just to get a useless, low paid job somewhere in their local cafe, because all the other jobs would be already grabbed by AI