Xbox Begins Rolling Out Age Verification Checks, With Social Features Disabled or Limited to Friends in UK From Early 2026 Unless You Provide ID, Live Photo, Mobile Number or Credit Card

Microsoft has begun asking Xbox users successful the UK to verify their property successful bid to proceed accessing the platform's afloat scope of societal features.

The determination is successful effect to the UK's sweeping Online Safety Act, though Microsoft has said it anticipates making akin changes successful different countries successful future.

Currently, the property verification requests are constricted to accounts already flagged arsenic belonging to owners aged 18 and implicit wrong the UK — and for now, the process is optional. But this volition alteration successful "early 2016", Microsoft says, erstwhile accounts that person not been verified volition suffer entree to Looking for Group functions and customized clubs, and beryllium constricted to dependable and substance communication, enactment functionality and crippled invites, positive "user-generated content" (including the Activity Feed) conscionable amongst Xbox friends. Integration with Discord volition beryllium disabled, arsenic volition the quality to broadcast to Twitch.

"Age verification is simply a caller diagnostic being introduced for players logging into an Xbox acquisition with Microsoft accounts based successful the UK," the institution wrote successful a just-published Q&A. "It helps guarantee that we tin proceed to supply players connected our level with age-appropriate experiences and support the Xbox assemblage safe.

"If you person an existing relationship oregon are mounting up a caller one, you whitethorn beryllium asked to verify your property utilizing Yoti, a trusted and unafraid third-party individuality verification service."

Yoti is 1 of the communal property verification services present being utilized by companies operating wrong the UK to guarantee users accessing societal features oregon big contented are aged capable to bash so. The past week has seen a swathe of platforms abruptly requiring their users to present verify their property — from bespoke big websites, to societal media platforms specified arsenic reddit and Bluesky.

According to Xbox's Q&A, users volition request to either supply a unrecorded photo, a mobile fig to cheque your property via your telephone network, a recognition card, oregon a photograph of a government-issued ID — including a passport, driving licence oregon nationalist ID card.

"Whether a subordinate verifies their property volition not impact immoderate erstwhile purchases, entitlements, gameplay history, achievements, oregon the quality to play and acquisition games," Xbox vice president of gaming spot and information Kim Kunes said, "however we promote players to verify their property via this one-time process present to debar uninterrupted usage of societal features connected Xbox successful the future.

"As this property verification process rolls retired crossed the UK, we’ll proceed to measure however we tin support players astir the satellite harmless and larn from the UK process," Kunes continued. "We expect to rotation retired property verification processes to much regions successful the future."

While Xbox is the archetypal of the large console level holders to sermon its plans to comply with the UK's Online Safety Act, it seems lone a substance of clip earlier PlayStation, Nintendo and different gaming companies people akin requirements.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You tin scope Tom astatine [email protected] oregon find him connected Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social