At Xbox, we’re dedicated to offering gamers with a protected and safe expertise on our platform. Since launching the first ever gaming console that would join gamers on-line in 2005, we’ve continued to make investments in state-of-the-art instruments and applied sciences to shield the Xbox neighborhood. Over greater than twenty years of expertise, we’ve developed a multifaceted security, privateness, and safety method that options built-in security measures, respects participant privateness, and empowers gamers, mother and father, and caregivers to have management over their gaming experiences.
We often iterate on these security measures in collaboration with our neighborhood, publishing companions, and {industry} regulators to guarantee we’re offering our gamers with the most secure attainable expertise. Starting right now, as a part of our compliance program for the UK On-line Safety Act and our ongoing investments in instruments and applied sciences that assist guarantee age-appropriate experiences, gamers who point out their account age as 18 and over, based mostly in the UK, and signing into an Xbox expertise with a Microsoft account will start seeing notifications encouraging them to confirm their age. This one-time course of for gamers in the UK ensures we are able to proceed to present all gamers on our platform with age-appropriate experiences.
Beginning early subsequent yr, age verification shall be required for these gamers in the UK to retain full entry to social options on Xbox, resembling voice or textual content communication and sport invitations. Gamers who don’t confirm their age between now and early 2026 can proceed to play and get pleasure from Xbox. Nevertheless, beginning early subsequent yr, their use of social options on Xbox will turn out to be restricted to pals solely till they full the age verification course of. Whether or not a participant verifies their age is not going to have an effect on any earlier purchases, entitlements, gameplay historical past, achievements, or the potential to play and buy video games, nevertheless we encourage gamers to confirm their age by way of this one-time course of now to keep away from uninterrupted use of social options on Xbox in the future.
Adults in the UK can start the age verification course of now on their cell gadget by scanning the QR code to then left, or by clicking this hyperlink: https://aka.ms/XboxUKAgeVerification
Gamers preferring to confirm by way of net can start the course of by signing into their Microsoft account at https://aka.ms/XboxUKAgeVerification.
There are a number of straightforward and safe strategies for age verification that gamers can select from, together with proof of government-issued ID, age estimation, cell supplier verify, and bank card verify. The knowledge gamers present throughout the age verification course of is protected with industry-standard encryption and just isn’t saved or used for some other goal. Extra details about the age verification course of, together with step-by-step directions, the choices gamers have for verifying their age, and how participant information is stored personal and safe, is accessible at aka.ms/XboxUKAgeSupport.
The Way forward for Safety at Xbox Globally
As this age verification course of rolls out throughout the UK, we’ll proceed to consider how we are able to hold gamers round the world protected and be taught from the UK course of. We anticipate to roll out age verification processes to extra areas in the future. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all resolution to participant security, so these strategies could look totally different throughout areas and experiences. We’ll work with native communities, publishing companions and regulators to decide the proper method that each respects participant privateness and doesn’t take away from the Xbox gameplay expertise. We’ll proceed to talk the adjustments we’re making to our practices and the information we accumulate so we are able to higher shield gamers on our platform.
Extra Sources
We encourage mother and father and caregivers of kids or teenagers who use an Xbox console to arrange little one or teen accounts, which don’t require age verification and permit them to handle gaming actions like screentime, spending limits, privateness and content material settings, and extra utilizing the Xbox Household Settings app. You’ll be able to be taught extra at www.xbox.com/en-US/family-hub or take a look at the Xbox Gaming Safety Toolkit to learn extra about how caregivers can assist safer gaming.
For extra data on Microsoft privateness, security, and accountable gaming, please see the under checklist of sources: