How will age verification for porn work and what about privacy?

The way people in the UK access adult websites is about to change in a big way. The government has passed the Online Safety Act, which requires websites with pornographic content to make it much harder for anyone under 18 to view their material. Major adult sites like Pornhub have already announced they will introduce advanced age verification checks. This move is meant to protect children from seeing explicit content online, but it has also raised concerns about privacy and how people’s personal information will be handled.

There are several methods that websites might use to verify a user’s age. One common method is credit card checks. When you enter your credit card details, a payment processor checks if the card is valid and if you are old enough. Companies like Verifymy say that no personal data is shared with the adult website—just a simple yes or no answer about whether you are over 18. However, some experts warn that if these systems are not designed carefully, they could put people’s privacy at risk. Another method is digital identity wallets, which are secure apps that store your age and other information. You can choose to share only your age with the website, and the company says it cannot see your details unless you give permission.

Other options include email-based age estimation, where you provide your email address and technology checks where else it has been used, like with banks or utility companies, to estimate your age. Some companies use facial age estimation, where you take a photo or video of your face and artificial intelligence tries to guess your age. While this can be accurate, many people feel uncomfortable with the idea of having their face scanned. Mobile network operator checks are another method, where the company checks if your phone number has age filters. This works best if you have a phone contract, but not with pay-as-you-go numbers. Open banking is also an option, where you allow the company to check with your bank to confirm you are over 18, but they do not see your transactions. Finally, you can upload a photo of your ID and a selfie, and the company checks if the ID is real and matches your face.

All these methods are designed to keep children safe from adult content, but they come with their own privacy concerns. Some people worry about sharing too much personal information online, and experts say it is important to balance safety with privacy. The companies providing these services claim they do not keep your data and only use it to check your age. The government and regulators like Ofcom will continue to monitor how these new rules are working and whether they are protecting both children and people’s privacy. As these changes roll out, it will be important for everyone to understand how their information is being used and to make choices that feel right for them.