Hey folks,
Spotify just imposed a pretty intense requirement for every UK based listener: prove you’re 18+ with a selfie or government ID, or your account can be frozen - then wiped after 90 days. They’re leaning on Yoti’s face-scan / ID-upload system to meet the UK’s new Online Safety Act requirements.
Australia just banned YouTube accounts for under-16s, and Discord, Reddit, and even Bluesky are rolling out their own ID walls. The era of “anonymous scrolling” is fading fast.
We’ve unpacked the whole story in a 5-minute read:
What Spotify’s Digital Age Verification Rules Really Mean for You
TLDR from our article:
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Fail (or skip) the check? Your account gets deactivated, then deleted.
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Data risk is real. Remember the Tea app breaches that dumped 70 k+ verification selfies, IDs, and over 1m messages? One leak, and your passport can end up on a scammer’s deepfake farm.
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Bigger trend: Governments push for “age assurance,” platforms comply, and your account history will be tied to your real-world identity.
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What you can do today: Audit (and shrink) your public footprint before someone else does it for you. Redact is gunna be your best friend for this.
/discuss
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Have you been hit with Spotify’s age-check yet? How did you respond?
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Would you trade a selfie + passport scan for explicit lyrics access?
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Do you think age verification actually protects minors, or is it security-theatre that heaps new risk on everyone?
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Practical tips: What platforms are still ID-free, and how are you keeping your data out of random vendor databases?
Share your thoughts & advice!