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UK Reddit users must now upload their faces to see NSFW content
Reddit users in the UK must now verify their age with Persona to access mature content.
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Starting July 14, Reddit users in the UK are getting hit with a new barrier to browsing anything labeled NSFW: age verification.
No, you can’t just click “I’m over 18” and move on. Under the UK’s newly enforced Online Safety Act, Reddit is demanding actual proof.
That means uploading a selfie or a government-issued ID, all to satisfy a law aimed at keeping minors out of grown-up corners of the internet.
According to Mashable, Reddit’s legal chief Ben Lee broke the news in a post on r/RedditSafety, explaining, “the UK Online Safety Act has new requirements to implement additional measures to prevent children from accessing age-inappropriate content.”
So, if you’re in the UK and trying to access mature or explicit subreddits after July 14, you’ll be prompted to verify your age through Persona, a third-party service.
Fail to pass this digital bouncer, and your Reddit rabbit hole stops at the velvet rope.
What is Persona?
Persona’s job is to check your age using either a selfie or your government ID.
As BBC reports, Reddit says it won’t get access to your photo or ID; the only thing they’ll store is your verification status and the birthdate you provide.
Persona itself promises to erase uploaded images within seven days, and Reddit swears your birthdate will never be visible to other users or advertisers.
This new age check is all about the UK’s Online Safety Act, a law passed in 2023 and coming into force for age checks on July 24, 2025.
The act forces platforms that host restricted content—think porn, violence, or anything else marked “mature”—to put up real age gates and keep under-18s out.
If you’re not verified as an adult, not only are you blocked from NSFW subreddits, but you’re also locked out of any content Reddit flags as “mature.”
Reddit’s age check is UK-only for now, but the company is also rolling out a new option for users elsewhere to provide a birthdate, which will help “optimize” Reddit’s content and ads based on age.
The company insists that this isn’t about tracking your identity, just keeping up with evolving global laws.
Still, the move has raised red flags for privacy advocates. According to Ars Technica, critics argue that uploading sensitive documents to access online content is a privacy landmine.
Does age verification ever work?
There’s also skepticism about whether these systems can even work—kids are famously adept at finding workarounds —and device-based verification (handled by your phone or computer, not every single site) is being promoted as a safer alternative.
Pornhub and its parent company, Aylo, have long argued for device-based systems, but so far, the law leaves it up to each site to figure things out.
Globally, the UK isn’t alone. As reported by The Verge, Australia is rolling out similar age checks for search engine users, and U.S. states have begun demanding ID checks for adult sites, too.
But the debate rages on: everyone agrees that kids should be protected, but there’s no consensus on whether these laws will actually work—or just end up creating new privacy headaches.
Reddit says it’s watching how the law evolves and is advocating for less invasive ways to prove your age. In the meantime, if you’re in the UK and want to browse mature content, get ready to show your digital ID—or get used to a lot more SFW scrolling.
What do you think about the UK’s new age verification rules? Privacy concern or necessary protection? Share your thoughts in the comments or on our social media!
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