Apple’s new age verification is a game-changer for kids’ safety online. We need the rest of big tech to follow

Anita Kot/Getty Images Australians who use Apple devices can once again access the world’s most popular adult content site, Pornhub.

That’s because Aylo, the parent company of Pornhub, is taking advantage of recent child-safety features Apple has implemented in their devices in Australia.

To use certain features – including access to adult content – Apple users now have to confirm they’re 18 .

This method of age verification is akin to an approach I originally proposed in The Conversation in 2024.

Importantly, this could be the start of a broader shift in the tech industry to a model that ensures child safety online with lesser privacy risks than we have right now.

Australia’s new era of age assurance Since March 2026 , Australians have typically had to prove they’re over 18 to access adult content online under new eSafety Commissioner requirements.

Some websites, including Pornhub, decided it was safer to simply block access to Australians, rather than rely on fallible age assurance methods .

Adult websites that chose not to block Australians predominantly turned to third-party identity providers such as Yoti, Persona, AgeGO and AgeVerif.

Such platforms typically require users to upload selfies or video of their face, or to hand over credit card details or government identity documents.

There’s a number of drawbacks with this approach.

What’s wrong with how we currently do age assurance? Adults wishing to prove they’re over 18 have to hand over sensitive, identifying information to a sea of identity providers.

While these services are marketed as safe and privacy aware, the mere act of handing them your private information could reveal highly sensitive information about your online habits – especially when accessing adult content.

A data breach against an identity provider represents a significant risk for its users.

Having many providers compounds that risk.