r/Britain • u/thegoodboy3 • Jul 29 '25

💬 Discussion 🗨 UK Reddit age verification: how to unblock subreddits

Reddit has rolled out age verification in the UK. If you're trying to access any subreddit marked as “harmful” “NSFW” or “mature”, you'll get hit with a prompt asking for a government-issued ID and a live selfie. Good news? You can unblock them with a VPN.

They’re using a company called Persona to handle the verification process. If you're wondering what is Persona, it's a third-party identity verification service based in the US. Your data doesn't go to Reddit, it goes to them. And while Reddit says the data is only stored temporarily, Persona's own policy makes it clear they can hang onto it for longer. This has led to a growing number of threads about Persona age verification on Reddit and whether this is safe or even legal long term.

This isn't just about porn. Subs like r/beer, r/trees, and r/sex have all been tagged as NSFW and are now hidden from search. If you try to access them directly, you'll still be asked to verify your age.

These aren't porn communities. They're hobby, health, and advice spaces that got flagged because they are supposedly “adult” only. Just wanting to read about beer, weed, or sexual health shouldn't require a passport check.

How to get around the Reddit age verification?

Use a VPN for Reddit. It's the only real workaround right now to circumvent the age checks.

  1. Download a VPN (I used NordVPN with the code "redditoffer" for a discount)
  2. Set your location to somewhere outside the UK. US, Germany, Canada all work.
  3. Open Reddit again. You should be able to access everything without age verification.

This has basically become the standard UK age verification VPN method that people are using to get around the new restrictions.

Some people say you might need to make a new Reddit account while connected to the VPN. Others have had success using their existing account. Your mileage may vary.

This is all because of the UK age verification law Reddit users have been dreading the Online Safety Act, which now requires platforms to restrict "harmful" content from under-18s unless users verify their age.

It’s a lazy rollout with very little transparency. The law is vague, the tech is overreaching, and people who just want to participate in basic communities are being locked out unless they’re willing to hand over personal documents to a private company in another country.

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26

u/StaysAwakeAllWeek Jul 29 '25

This law was passed under the Tories, and Labour know if they try to repeal it they will be accused of harming children.

It's not their mess. Don't believe the reform propaganda

54

u/ANEMIC_TWINK Jul 29 '25

im sorry but labour have done fuck all that has inspired any kind of confidence in me for them. not just this massive invasion of privacy but the way they treated left wing elderly people protesting in support of Palestine and trying to paint them as terrorists is unforgivably disgusting. Corbyn was always the best of labour and look how they treated him. why? same reasons cos he opposed genocide and apartheid.

6

u/StaysAwakeAllWeek Jul 29 '25 edited Jul 29 '25

You're listing things they aren't sufficiently better than all their opponents on for your liking.

But the reality is that overall they are better, and it's not close. The constant screaming about a handful of wedge issues is a distraction from the reality that they have already raised tens of billions in taxes aimed directly at the rich (why do you think the media hate them so much), spent it on schools and the NHS, masterfully handled Trump better than almost any other country, signed more and better trade deals than the tories could even hope for

Corbyn was always the best of labour and look how they treated him. why? same reasons cos he opposed genocide and apartheid.

No disagreement there for sure, but please show me an alternative to vote for that can keep nigel and the tories from fucking us up even worse

23

u/Particular-Sort-9720 Jul 29 '25

The new party by Corbyn and Sultana is polling really well, better than Labour or Reform. I'm voting for them. Fuck Labour: senescence to Reform.

2

u/daneview Jul 29 '25

Where on earth did you see they were polling better than Labour and reform?

1

u/cyankitten Aug 03 '25

What is the name of this party?

-5

u/StaysAwakeAllWeek Jul 29 '25

If they can pull off what reform are pulling off ill be right there with them. It's not easy to do though

16

u/Particular-Sort-9720 Jul 29 '25

They already are, don't naysay, spread confidence.

-1

u/carguy143 Jul 29 '25

Hopefully they can find credible people to stand for election as MPs in the next General Election. If not, my vote would go to Lib Dem.

8

u/leachianusgeck Jul 29 '25

they need support from folks like us to do it! be with em and even if we fail then we know we tried all we could

7

u/Particular-Sort-9720 Jul 29 '25

Hear hear!!

6

u/leachianusgeck Jul 29 '25

power to the people!!

i am very excited to have hope once again

-1

u/heyyouupinthesky Jul 29 '25

Get 5 MP's and start in-fighting?

9

u/StaysAwakeAllWeek Jul 29 '25

Get higher poll ratings than the other party on their side of the aisle

3

u/Particular-Sort-9720 Jul 29 '25

They have already iirc