Last week, the Online Safety Act came into effect in the UK and made it much harder to access anything the government deems adult and mature on the internet. The idea behind the act was to prevent young folk from being able to easily reach pornographic or even graphic content on the web, but it has led to an uproar in the country as it has imposed restrictions that a large proportion of people are unhappy with.
Essentially, to prove one's age, now you must either complete a face scan or send personal details to a private third-party company, something many feel uncomfortable with as it further puts them at risk of data breaches. Also, the law now enables the government to block anything online it deems adult, putting a firm restriction on what the UK public can freely access.
Regardless of whether you like the Act or not, it is law and companies have to respect it, even Microsoft and Xbox. As of early 2026, Xbox will be enforcing an age restriction system in the UK, meaning if you want full access to the social features on an Xbox device, you will need to either share your government-issued ID, do a mobile provider check, a credit card check, or an age estimation face scan.
This system is in effect as of the moment meaning you can complete the process and tick it off today by heading to Xbox Wire so that you do not need to worry about having features blocked early next year. It should also be said that whether you do this process or not, you will still be able to communicate with friends and it won't have any affect on "previous purchases, entitlements, gameplay history, achievements, or the ability to play and purchase games".
Anyone outside of the UK might be wondering why this has any relevance to them, but it might eventually, as Xbox also states the following:
"As this age verification process rolls out across the UK, we'll continue to evaluate how we can keep players around the world safe and learn from the UK process. We expect to roll out age verification processes to more regions in the future. There is no one-size-fits-all solution to player safety, so these methods may look different across regions and experiences. We'll work with local communities, publishing partners and regulators to determine the right approach that both respects player privacy and doesn't take away from the Xbox gameplay experience. We'll continue to communicate the changes we're making to our practices and the data we collect so we can better protect players on our platform."