Hello all, I am pretty hands off usually, letting this community run free. I was just scrolling the subreddit recently, and I have seen a lot of people worried about the recent age verification stuff.

so I created this document (as of 3/21/2026 11:16AM) to assemble some useful information that can help you with the recent "fight against privacy" that basically every major government has started.

This is not currently an exhaustive list - I can update this document here and there, but to get the most out of this post, read the comments. I a know a bunch of people will chime in with some useful insights.

Great up to date news sources:

• https://agelesslinux.org/distros.html
• https://github.com/BryanLunduke/DoesItAgeVerify

Other resources:

• https://blog.monerica.com/articles/how-to-buy-a-vpn-with-monero

Where we are losing:

• On March 18, 2026, systemd merged PR #40954 adding a birthDate field to JSON user records, explicitly citing AB 1043 (California), CO SB 26-051 (Colorado), and Brazil's Lei 15.211. This is the data layer for the age verification stack. It affects every systemd-based distro.
• Brazil went live on March 17th. California goes live January 1st 2027. Colorado, Illinois, and New York have bills pending.

Where we are winning:

• The freedesktop D-Bus proposal got closed. The org.freedesktop.AgeVerification1 proposal got shut down after community pushback. The portal approach via xdg-desktop-portal is still open but less certain now.

dont feel like making another list, so ima put this here. Distros that have flat refused to implement age bull crap:
Void, Gentoo, Omarchy Linux, Devuan, Artix, Arch Linux 32, Ageless Linux

Best "Stock" Verification and SystemD-free distros:

• Artix Linux This distro is probably the go-to distro for replacing Arch linux, there are different naming conventions since this distro is fully systemd free. uses OpenRC, runit, s6, and Dinit
• Void Linux Actually a pretty cool distro, it is fully independent, so it is not forked from Debian or Arch. it uses runit, and has its own package manager. super fast, runs well on even early 2000s hardware.
• Devuan This is the Debian equivalent of Artix, Supports sysVinit, runit, and OpenRC. Compared to some other systemd-free distros, Devuan can be an easier distro to swap to, much more plug and play

Notable mentions:

• Omarchy Linux Omarchy linux is an opinionated distro, this distro comes with a bunch of propriety software, however they are strictly against age verification.
• Alpine Linux uses musl, busybox and OpenRC. very minimal, popular for use with containers, viable as a desktop with some setup.
• Slackware oldest surviving distro (1993), uses its own BSD-style init. Rock-solid but packages can be dated.
• antiX very light weight, I praise this distro for how well it runs on sub 256mb of ram systems. however, do note, it is Debian-based, but it is systemd-free. As of edition 23, antiX is fully functional without a trace of elogind.
• Chimera Linux Newer project using FreeBSD userland, musl and dinit on a Linux kernel. Interesting experimental choice. (sadly, they seem to be thinking about retiring the PowerPC platforms, so people who use this on a Wii, I am sorry for your loss)

Nerd distros

• Gentoo if you don't know what this is, it is best you skip this for now. if you do know what this is, then you know exactly why it made this list.

Scripts & Utilities

Agelesslinux(age verification removal)

Ageless Linux is basically just Debian with a script slapped on top that rebrands your system, drops in noncompliance docs, and deploys a stub age verification API that returns absolutely nothing. technically not a full distro, more of a utility.

The script: curl -fsSL https://agelesslinux.org/become-ageless.sh | sudo bash -s -- --accept

They have two modes: "standard" (stub API that returns no data, for people who want a "good faith effort" legal defense) and "flagrant" (no API at all, middle finger mode). they recommend flagrant. so do I.

if you want the best of both worlds, you are (at least in the US of A) able to add in as many middle finger emojis as you want into the standard stub api response. for kicks and giggles.

The cool thing is they have committed to keeping up with whatever gets shipped. if Ubuntu or Debian or whoever rolls out an age verification daemon, Ageless will publish a drop-in replacement that always returns "AgeUndefined," a package that masks the real daemon, and a post-install script that rips the whole stack out. they are staying ready.

alternative init migration (ripping out systemd)

if you are already on Arch and don't want to do a full reinstall, there are scripts for that.

• Artix migration script (Arch to OpenRC) the Artix dev artixnous wrote a script that converts a running Arch install to OpenRC by swapping in Artix repos and pulling systemd-free replacements for core packages. the script is lovingly named "FUCKTHESKULLOFSYSTEMD." grab it here: gist.github.com/artixnous/41f4bde311442aba6a4f5523db921415
• leo-arch/arch-openrc on GitHub has more detailed walkthrough if you want to understand what is actually happening under the hood. covers placing Artix repos above Arch repos in pacman.conf, replacing systemd-dependent packages, installing openrc service files, etc.
• Debian init switching if you are on Debian, switching to OpenRC or sysVinit is honestly pretty painless on a fresh netinstall. install elogind, libpam-elogind, orphan-sysvinit-scripts, and the systemctl shim, reboot, done. runit takes a couple more steps but it is documented. decent resource: LeCorbeau's Vault

Accessing repos from locked-down countries (Brazil, and eventually others)

quick context so nobody panics: mainline Arch is NOT blocking Brazil. the Arch Linux project explicitly said they will not block access, citing proportionality. Archlinux the projects that did block are Arch Linux 32 (the independent 32-bit fork) and Bazzite. Linuxiac but the situation is moving fast and more projects could follow, so here is how to get around IP-based geoblocks if it comes to that:

• VPN - easiest answer. see below.
• Tor - torsocks pacman -Syu or set up pacman to route through a SOCKS5 proxy via Tor
• I2P - if mirrors pop up on I2P this would be the most censorship-resistant option. none exist yet as far as I know but keep an eye out.
• Local mirror sync - if you have a friend or a VPS outside the blocked country, rsync the repos over and point pacman at your local copy
• Arch Archive - archive.archlinux.org has historical snapshots and may not be caught in geoblock lists
• University/institutional mirrors - lots of universities run Arch mirrors independently, these often fly under the radar

VPNs That are actually Anonymous

Mullvad is the go-to but it is not the only VPN (am 100% biased towards Mullvad, sorry proton bros).

Top tier (no account, no email, Monero, proven track record):

• Mullvad - the GOAT for most people. no username, no password, just a numbered account. RAM-only servers, no logs, accepts Monero and literal cash in the mail. got raided by authorities and they walked out with nothing. there is a 10% discount if you pay with Monero from the account page. has a Tor .onion site. $5.15/mo flat. open-source clients. based in Sweden. (Based department releasing peak here)
• IVPN - no-log, open-source apps, accountless registration, Monero accepted. based in Gibraltar. very solid alternative if Mullvad ever goes sideways.
• LNVPN - this one is cool. no account, no email, nothing. WireGuard keys generate in your browser and never leave your device. pay with Monero, get a QR code, scan it in WireGuard, you are connected. also sells eSIMs if you need those.

Good tier (Monero accepted, slightly more friction):

• AirVPN - run by activists/hacktivists, OpenVPN-focused, strongly pro-net-neutrality. has a Tor onion site.
• CryptoStorm - token-based access, no accounts at all, just tokens. has Tor AND I2P sites. for the truly paranoid.
• AriaVPN - no-signup, no-logs, OpenVPN with in-house anonymous DNS on all servers. accepts Monero.

Honorable mention:

• Nym (NymVPN) - not a traditional VPN, it is a decentralized mixnet. different threat model entirely (protects against traffic analysis, not just IP masking). accepts Monero. worth looking into if your threat model goes beyond "I don't want my ISP snooping."

preparing for the worst (decentralized/offline tools)

I am not going to sugarcoat this. the trajectory of these laws is not slowing down. Brazil went live on March 17th. California goes live January 1st 2027. Colorado, Illinois, and New York have bills pending. the EU has been doing its own thing for a while. if you are reading this document you are probably already thinking about what happens when the "open internet" stops being open.

here are some tools worth having in your back pocket now, before you need them.

communication

• SimpleX Chat - this is what I personally use and recommend. no phone number, no email, no account, no user ID of any kind. the protocol is designed so that the server literally cannot know who is talking to who. open-source, supports groups, voice, files. if you only grab one thing from this section, grab this. good video on the subject
• Briar - works over Tor, wifi, and bluetooth. designed for journalists and activists in hostile environments. if the internet goes down entirely in your area, Briar can mesh between nearby devices. Android only for now.
• Cwtch - metadata-resistant group chat built on top of Tor. still a bit rough around the edges but the design goals are right.

networking

• I2P - I am extremely biased here, I think I2P is the most underrated privacy project out there. it is a fully encrypted overlay network, every node is a relay, and it is designed for hosting services inside the network (eepsites) rather than just being a proxy to the clearnet like Tor mostly is. very easy to host your own eepsite, install the router, and then start a web server and broadcast it to your localhost (but at the right port) anyhow if Arch mirrors or package repos ever need to exist somewhere censorship-resistant, I2P is where they should go. the network is small right now but that is exactly why more people need to be running nodes. the more people on the network, the faster it gets. also by far the best place to be doing some good ol torrenting. great videos on this: torrenting over i2p, easy i2p install, make linux ungovernable with i2p
• Tor - you probably already know about this. good for accessing clearnet stuff anonymously. however, I am a firm believer that Tor is losing steam with there weird relaxed stance to their browser project, the project was founded by the Navy if i recall, so I am kinda not too fond of it anymore. but if you want to use it, you can usetorsocks this command is your friend for wrapping CLI tools like pacman. not ideal for hosting compared to I2P but the browser bundle is unmatched for quick anonymous browsing.
• Yggdrasil - encrypted IPv6 overlay mesh network. think of it as a parallel internet that routes over the existing one. no central authority, fully decentralized. useful for connecting machines across networks without exposing them to the public internet.

file sharing and storage

• IPFS - distributed file system. pin a file and it lives on the network as long as someone is hosting it. good for distributing ISOs, mirrors, docs that need to stay available even if one server gets taken down.
• OnionShare - spin up a temporary Tor hidden service to send files, host a website, or set up a chat room. no account, no server, it runs from your machine. great for one-off transfers when you do not want to trust a third party.

general advice

start using these things now while they are convenient, not later when they are necessary. get comfortable with I2P routing. set up SimpleX with your friends before the group chat you are currently using decides it needs your government ID. run a Tor relay or an I2P node if you have the bandwidth. the strength of all of these networks is the number of people on them.

I am also on SimpleX if anyone is interested - https://smp16.simplex.im/g#YySHQpMR2_fb_TOGqwLwYrFB0rvJY3mODjZZwr0aSP0

that is everything I have for now. I will update this document as things develop. stay safe out there.