Overview
- A second wave of YouTube’s AI-driven age verification is hitting more accounts, with fresh reports from users who say they were wrongly classified as under 18.
- Flagged users see a notice that settings changed because YouTube could not verify adulthood, then must either use the service with restrictions or reverify their age.
- Manual verification options include submitting an official ID, taking a selfie for age estimation, or using a credit card, though some users report these methods can fail.
- Accounts treated as under 18 face blocked age-restricted videos, non-personalized ads, default digital wellbeing tools, reduced recommendations, private-by-default uploads, and limits on gifts in vertical live streams.
- The renewed rollout follows an initial wave in late September after a July announcement, and coverage also notes related Play Store checks that offer a third-party option not present on YouTube, fueling privacy concerns.