Even Microsoft gaming services might need a VPN soon

It seems not a week goes by without people somewhere in the world having to upload their ID to carry on with their usual online activities. Xbox gamers in the UK are the latest for whom the swinging scythe of privacy death has come, as they have been receiving emails from Microsoft telling them they'll need to verify their identity if they want to access its social media-linked services. This is yet another of the changes caused by the UK's Online Safety Act, which will affect anyone in that country who doesn't use a VPN, and is an indicator of what's to come for people in the US.

Written into law in 2023, rules concerning child protection became a legal requirement in July 2025. Despite regular warnings that VPN use would render the age-related restrictions useless before coming into force, no provision was made. Unsurprisingly, many of the best services available, such as NordVPN, SurfShark, Cyberghost, Proton VPN, and ExpressVPN (comparisons of which you'll find in our comprehensive best VPNs guide) reported a sharp uptake of subscribers as soon as it came into play.

For UK users, age verification must be completed before "early 2026" if they don't want to lose access to social features, though games and existing friends and groups will remain available. Verification is managed via a Microsoft-hosted service called Yoti, which can estimate your age from a selfie, or use alternatives like state ID (passport, driving licence), credit card check, or mobile provider verification. It's all a bit dystopian, isn't it?

Microsoft's email states: "As part of our compliance program for the UK Online Safety Act and our ongoing investments in tools and technologies that help ensure age-appropriate experiences, we're introducing age verification for Microsoft accounts in the UK." An identical statement appears on its news site.

Microsoft said that age verification "helps ensure that we can continue to provide players on our platform with age-appropriate experiences and keep the Xbox community safe." It feels a bit redundant, though, as Xbox accounts for children already have decent parental controls, with options for spending restrictions, additional approvals on friend requests, and more. At best, this will help with kids who use their parents' or older siblings' accounts, but even then, if those parents or siblings upload their ID, the child can do as they please.

Interestingly, Microsoft doesn't seem to view this as a UK-only thing. As it said later in its announcement, "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." So, you might find that age verification becomes a requirement in the US, Canada, or wherever you are reading this, too. VPNs will always be a way around this, though, unless it's enforced worldwide.

Until then, if you would prefer to avoid age verification on Xbox consoles or the Windows Xbox app, make sure you're familiar with our list of the best gaming VPN services.