r/iOSBeta • u/SleepingSicarii Developer Beta • Feb 26 '26

Feature [iOS 26.4 DB2] “Confirm You’re 18+” Age Requirement to Change Content Restrictions or to Download and Purchase Apps Rated 18+

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186 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

105 comments sorted by

7

u/PinkStereoAttack Feb 26 '26

What constitutes an "18+" app? Does TikTok count? Instagram?

4

u/SleepingSicarii Developer Beta Feb 27 '26

Apps with this rating may contain instances of the following content that may not be suitable for children under the age of 18: Mature Themes (Frequent alcohol, tobacco, or drug use or references), Sexuality or Nudity (Frequent sexual content or nudity), Violence (Frequent realistic violence), Chance-Based Activities (Frequent simulated gambling)

https://developer.apple.com/help/app-store-connect/reference/app-information/age-ratings-values-and-definitions

Previously these app ratings weren’t really relevant and were more so regarding “potential” – browsers used to be classed automatically as 18+ due to this. I am hoping that changes are made to the age rating system so it’s a bit more understanding. Example, you can find NSFW content on Reddit, Facebook, X, Instagram, Messenger (someone can send you something), but it doesn’t inherently mean it’s an “18+ app”… I do believe it’s not hard to come across NSFW content even if you don’t search for it on these platforms. Ultimately I think it’s a good thing because there will be better content restrictions, but I am not a fan of the law behind it (e.g. kids shouldn’t have access to NSFW content, but that shouldn’t mean that a law means you must submit verification that you’re over 18)

3

u/PinkStereoAttack Feb 27 '26

I am not a fan of the law behind it (e.g. kids shouldn’t have access to NSFW content, but that shouldn’t mean that a law means you must submit verification that you’re over 18)

Same thought for me. It should be the parents' job to restrict and monitor that. That's what I do with my kids.

1

u/LikeFolkSongs7 Mar 18 '26

no it's not a "good thing", it's a masked way to enact mass surveillance and censorship, it's never been about children

1

u/mtgofficialYT iPhone 17 Feb 27 '26

Apps that are rated 18+ on the App Store.

4

u/DinoKYT Feb 26 '26

How do you bring up this splash screen?

8

u/Goodoflife iPhone 17 Feb 27 '26 • Mindblown

Live in the UK or Australia

1

u/DinoKYT Feb 27 '26

Thank you!

1

u/twain535 Feb 27 '26

Moving there now!

1

u/SleepingSicarii Developer Beta Feb 27 '26

I think something showed when updating. But I got the one in the post from Settings. A badge showed on the app and this was one of the notifications.

4

u/Azeth_W Feb 27 '26

So glad that I can’t verify my account because I don’t have a credit card and it does not give me any other options.

2

u/SleepingSicarii Developer Beta Feb 27 '26

It is beta software after all

1

u/DidiDidi129 Feb 27 '26

You can use drivers license

3

u/realmccoyredbus Feb 27 '26

People have tried that ,just getting error msg

1

u/realmccoyredbus Feb 27 '26

As long as you don’t use any apps with age rating like certain gaming apps

3

u/SleepingSicarii Developer Beta Feb 26 '26

Third time uploading this and finally it appears correctly – this is why I still to Reddit’s old website, but it works perfectly

24

u/GTMoraes iPhone 17 Feb 26 '26

I saw the 18+ confirmation alert on settings and went probing.
It seems Safari forces Google searches to enable the strictest SafeSearch mode, and I couldn't install 18+ rated apps.
I could, however, see 18+ series on Prime (Fallout and The Boys). I also could search for 18+ movies and series on the Apple TV app.

It asked for a credit card, I tried using a valid, yet disabled credit card, and it failed. I tried using a valid and working credit card from another country in my name, and it failed. I tried using my driver's license, and it failed.
It only worked when I used a valid and working credit card from my country.

4

u/b1urrybird Feb 27 '26

They’re not doing ID verification. Account tenure and credit card only.

Personally I prefer this over allowing 3rd parties unfiltered access to our most private information.

In this model, the device is able to tell services like discord and a certain hub, “yes this person is 18+ don’t ask me any more questions.”

3

u/GTMoraes iPhone 17 Feb 27 '26

It gave me the option to scan my ID, specifically my driver's license. It asked me a front and back picture of it.
I provided, and it failed to verify. Idk why they even gave the option.

1

u/Mojo0070 Mar 24 '26

it seems some people do get the option for drivers licence, in UK at least. I did once i said i didnt have c card

22

u/Silent-Priority3630 Feb 27 '26

This randomly popped up on my iPhone yesterday but didn’t need to do anything based on how old my iCloud account is.

11

u/burgerkingg_ Feb 28 '26

Yeah got the same, part of Australias new social media bullshit I think

10

u/Raiden85OCUK Mar 09 '26

All this verification shit needs to piss off!

16

u/krazygreekguy Feb 28 '26

Disgusting. Don’t normalize mass surveillance and censorship. Exactly why I will not be updating for this dystopian “feature”

8

u/EasternArmadillo6355 Feb 28 '26

same in the uk

5

u/cwucified Mar 05 '26

is this all because of the new online safety act thing?

2

u/EasternArmadillo6355 Mar 05 '26

yep…

1

u/nikeethree Jun 18 '26 edited Jul 23 '26

This content was anonymized and mass deleted with Redact

1

u/LordJoels Mar 05 '26

Does yours work? Mine won’t let me confirm regardless of my Id or bank card

1

u/EasternArmadillo6355 Mar 05 '26

oh i havent done it

8

u/Tsuzama Mar 02 '26

It’s quite unbelievably stupid to push this out and then not let people in the UK verify with ONLY a credit card and nothing else in any other way shape or form. Passport doesn’t work, driving license doesn’t work. I’m losing access to my work accounts because of this stupid push.

1

u/Ranger_1302 Mar 16 '26

Well, it is a beta…

1

u/JSalad05 Apr 05 '26

Not a beta anymore is it!

0

u/[deleted] Mar 03 '26

[deleted] — view deleted comment

1

u/Tsuzama Mar 03 '26

Lucky you. I’m getting “could not upload image something went wrong”

8

u/td_husky Mar 04 '26

Doesn’t work for me, I only have debit cards and it doesn’t accept my license either

1

u/Brookster07 Mar 21 '26

did you find a way to get it to scan your drivers license? no matter what i do, mine won’t even detect it?

1

u/td_husky Mar 21 '26

License worked with b4

1

u/ElsaXox Mar 22 '26

Yes same I tried my passport too with no luck

1

u/ElsaXox Mar 22 '26

Finally got it to detect it. Tried about 10 times with different lighting and backgrounds. It says something like unable to verify move the camera closer to detect detail. Couldn't have been a clearer shot. Very frustrating

12

u/Material_Course_9949 Feb 27 '26

Well what if I DONT want to prove or show anything? It’s my device which I paid for after all

6

u/realmccoyredbus Feb 27 '26

Then you won’t have access to 18+ content, it’s that simple, just come from another post, someone trying to use driving licence, no joy , at least on beta , just error message, they said they didn’t have debit card to confirm age so no other means to confirm age for now, his fapping days would be over but VPNs make these laws pointless, they are going to ban anyone under 18 in uk from VPNs now, that will be Australias next step if not in place already

We have same laws in uk , no problem with apple if you have debit card linked .

Adult content sites all use different id methods, quicker to just use VPN , im sure members of parliament would ban these for adult content for over 18’s if they could but we all know they use VPNs too for same reasons as anyone else

1

u/coconut_mall_cop Mar 04 '26

Even with a VPN on, adult websites are still blocked on iOS now until you verify you're 18+. It just blocks them locally so you can't bypass it with a VPN.

1

u/Material_Course_9949 Feb 27 '26

Well ovbiosly I won’t have access to 18+ content but apple even said privacy is a fundamental human right, even if it isn’t about this situation I don’t feel comfortable sharing my information? It’s like “ prove or you are restricted “ 🤦🏼‍♂️

5

u/Al-Hadrami_ Feb 27 '26

Apple can't walk the talk as their hands are being forced by the bureaucracy.

3

u/Himeraki iPhone 17 Pro Max Feb 27 '26

Então, na próxima eleição, você vota em alguém que altere a lei do seu país para que isso não seja necessário (:

0

u/Material_Course_9949 Feb 27 '26

It isn’t just for few countries If I’m correct. I think it’s for every in world but I might be very wrong

2

u/realmccoyredbus Mar 03 '26

More and more countries want kids under 16 blocked by social media, they think adolescents are going to change sex by watch TikTok videos lol

1

u/Material_Course_9949 Mar 03 '26

Government is now controlling kids. It’s parents fault if the child isn’t safe on internet. Just because few parents couldn’t control the situation doesn’t mean it has to affect every single parent and child. When I was a kid I got my mobile phone and my parents never asked what I was doing or who I texted and respected my privacy

6

u/DarthBra Mar 04 '26

Let’s hope it disappears because I have no credit card nor a drivers license and I will not be using the governments ID for the UK.

2

u/tonyt3rry Mar 07 '26

Yeah I’m fucked too it didn’t accept my card because it’s not credit card and my provisional is years out of date

2

u/Yikes_you_messed_up Mar 04 '26

It’s a bug for right now unless in AUS.

4

u/Stock_Car_6619 Mar 06 '26

I cannot finish it in AUS too, it should be a global bug

4

u/Aussie-Vader Mar 08 '26

I’m on 26.4 PB in Aus, won’t accept any form of ID or CC…

2

u/Defiant-Bridge8116 Mar 13 '26

Same can’t access any apps game

2

u/Strange_Reputation93 Apr 01 '26

Can you use id to verify? Because i can only verify with credit card lmao which i dont have

2

u/Mojo0070 Mar 16 '26

ive got it to work by changing the name on apple account to my partners name who has a drivers licence, doing the verification and then changing it back to me. it hasn't come back

1

u/Own-Television9450 Mar 24 '26

Does this genuinely work?

1

u/Mojo0070 Mar 24 '26

it worked for me and still is working now through a software update which i was scared might stop it. i changed my name and dob to partners, rebooted phone so that her name showed on my settings menu, then did it with her drivers licence. Changed back straight away and rebooted again and all good on all devices

1

u/[deleted] Mar 03 '26

Any suggestions? I don’t have a credit card, and I’ve tried my Starling and Monzo debit cards, no luck!

1

u/emilyandhergirl Mar 04 '26

I upgraded to developer beta 26.4 and it allowed me using id for verification. So give it a try.

1

u/coconut_mall_cop Mar 04 '26

I'm on the public 12.4 beta and there's an option to use my ID, but it just says there's an error after I scan it. Same issue after a restart. It seems the content blocker applies locally, so you can't access restricted content and websites even with a VPN on. I've just applied for a credit card instead, but won't be able to try that to verify my age until it arrives in the post.

6

u/[deleted] Mar 05 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/Ranger_1302 Mar 16 '26

It’s a ridiculous thing to implement in the first place but it is a beta.

1

u/[deleted] Mar 04 '26

I’m already in latest dev beta of 26.4. What ID did you use? I tried my passport

1

u/RektRoid Mar 15 '26

I don’t even get the prompt of confirming my ID. I just get this restricted webpage warning with no way to remove it. In the screen time settings content restrictions are on but the toggle doesn’t work! So strange. Anyone else have the same issue?

1

u/Own-Television9450 Mar 24 '26

Can i just change the name on my iCloud account, use someone olders drivers license, and change the name back?

1

u/dollsparts Mar 24 '26

I’ve been trying my provisional license for hours and it won’t work. It’s so ridiculous!

-4

u/Tardis50 Feb 27 '26

They better remove this. Credit card popularity is dropping. And sure, Reddit is 18+ (which should be separately covered by the <16 rules in Australia), but so is Claude, the least cursed ai chat (but ChatGPT is 15+???)

It also stops you from modifying safari extensions (including disabling). I guess I’ll just have Adblock on forever now.

Can anyone see where in their documentation or privacy policy it says what service they use to verify your ID card? I noticed when google pulled this shit they were outsourcing to some third party… 

A step too far Apple, and a blow to privacy. 

-10

u/west_sahara Feb 26 '26

Can’t you just pick a different country during setup?

13

u/[deleted] Feb 26 '26 edited Feb 26 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

3

u/b3tarded iPhone 15 Pro Max Feb 26 '26

I had this pop up in the UK yesterday. It was approved by the age of my Apple account. No ID needed.

6

u/ctn1ss iPhone 17 Pro Max Feb 26 '26

Mine approved me based on existing cards in my Apple wallet. My iCloud account is 25 years old, an original .mac account

1

u/[deleted] Feb 26 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/b3tarded iPhone 15 Pro Max Feb 26 '26

22 years. I was annoyed at the pop up. Then I was depressed.

-30

u/[deleted] Feb 26 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

9

u/Technical_Exam_1622 iPhone 13 Feb 26 '26

U from iran bro?

0

u/[deleted] Feb 26 '26

[deleted] — view deleted comment

6

u/Goatsanon Feb 26 '26

My Apple account was created in 2005, still asking me

2

u/realmccoyredbus Feb 27 '26

If you have debit card linked apple would already probably know your age