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YouTube users complain about age verification request

YouTube age verification verify age ID and credit card

Several YouTube users are complaining about the annoying pop up inquiring details for age verification. A number of users are getting blocked by YouTube from watching some videos, when users click on these videos a prompt pops up. The prompt asks for sensitive information in order to verify the age of the users, the prompt asks for credit card details and other documents such as ID for age verification. All though, users all around the globe are complaining about this, the problem seems to be primarily based in the European Union.

YouTube asks for age verification

Many users have pointed out that asking for credit card details for age verification is absurd. Many users located in the United States are also experiencing the same problems. What some users found more concerning is that asking for sensitive information is the fact that YouTube is falsely flagging certain videos for containing age-restricted content even though these videos do not comprise of adult content at all.

The reason behind this sudden step to verify age might be because Google publicly announced a few months back that YouTube in Europe was gearing up to strengthening its age verification requirements. Google also said that users will be asked to provide additional information before being allowed to watch adult content. It is apparent that basic details such as date of birth already specified in your Google account is insufficient.

Moreover, in accordance with European laws, an additional series of steps might be required to verify the age of users. One user tweeted, “@youtube hey, is this new age verification using my credit card legit? Cos you know, I’m not really sure I want to put my credit details in, and not everyone has a license. I’m gonna be 25 next month.. It’s on a song I literally listened to yesterday that now I can’t. Great.”

youtube age verification

Users not comfortable with providing ID and credit card details

It is apparent that several users are uncomfortable with providing their credit card information. There is also an option to provide a driving license or passport to verify age. It takes approximately three days before this information is processed and users are able to freely watch videos on YouTube. The entire process is lengthy and annoying according to many users.

Another user complained, “@YouTube I’m 42 years old next month, and I can’t watch videos as it’s asking for age verification. I’m not uploading card details and have no photo id. What do I do? My age is correct in Google and no restrictions are on.” YouTube replied to this by saying, “Thanks for sending this our way – if you’re over 18 & you can’t see age-restricted content, make sure that you’re signed in to the correct account. Otherwise, you really need to verify your age to continue streaming.”

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About the author

Saman Iqbal

Saman is a law student. She enjoys writing about tech, politics and the world in general. She's an avid reader and writes fictional prose in her free time.







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