The implementation of the UK’s Online Safety Act has led some users to find ways around the stringent age-verification checks instituted by platforms like Discord. One creative workaround involves the photo mode feature in the game Death Stranding. By launching this game and capturing an image of the protagonist, Sam Porter Bridges, users are able to hide their identities, thereby evading Discord’s age-check mechanisms. The Online Safety Act came into force on July 25, mandating age verification for access to adult content online.
Prior to this, Discord had begun testing its verification processes in the UK and other European regions as early as April 2023. Its system, known as K-id, utilizes face scans or ID scans to confirm a person’s age, deleting any submitted images or documents once verification is complete. Despite this, many users have expressed concerns regarding their privacy, highlighting the sensitive nature of the data being collected. News of users bypassing the checks has surfaced, with reports indicating that the Photo Mode feature in Death Stranding can be exploited to access age-restricted sections on Discord.
One user, Dany Sterkhov, illustrated that by taking a picture of Sam and manipulating his facial expressions during the verification prompt, they were able to navigate past age restrictions. Since Discord does not retain the images for identification purposes, they lack the ability to verify if users employed this illicit method. Another user, GimmeBoss, confirmed that similar tactics work with Death Stranding 2, citing their success with Sam’s pictures to circumvent K-id checks. Although the K-id protocol is limited to specific regions, it has drawn criticism from privacy advocates, branded as “Draconian” by some.
In addition to employing game features, users have also turned to VPNs to hide their IP addresses, enabling them to masquerade as users from countries where the age checks do not apply. Meanwhile, established gaming platforms like Steam and itch.io are tightening their regulations around the type of adult content permitted on their services.