UK Children Use Fake Beards and VPNs to Bypass Online Age Checks

UK children are using creative methods including drawing on fake facial hair to bypass facial recognition age checks on online platforms, according to a survey released this week by Internet Matters. -based online safety organization surveyed 1,270 children aged 9 to 16 and their parents.

It found that 46% of the children believe age-verification methods are easy to bypass while only 17% consider them difficult. Common techniques include entering fake birthdates, using VPNs, or submitting videos of another person's face or even a character.

The survey comes after child safety protections under the Online Safety Act took effect in July 2025. Those rules require service providers to deploy highly effective age verification or estimation technologies to restrict children's access to harmful content.

About 26% of parents admitted allowing their children to bypass the checks, with 17% saying they actively helped. Despite the new requirements, 49% of children surveyed said they experienced harm online in the past month.

The implementation of the Online Safety Act has produced noticeable changes. Sixty-eight percent of children and 67% of adults reported seeing more safety features such as improved reporting tools and content filters. Fifty-three percent of children said they had recently been asked to verify their age.

Thirty-nine percent of parents and 42% of children described the internet as becoming a safer place. Internet Matters CEO Rachel Huggins noted clear signs of progress including better reporting tools, content labelling and restrictions on certain platform functions.

"However, children continue to encounter harmful content at concerning rates, and age checks to manage their experiences online - while widespread - are often seen as easy to circumvent," Huggins wrote in the report. She added that parents continue to shoulder much of the responsibility for keeping children safe in an increasingly complex digital environment.

In the United States, age-verification requirements have been enacted at the state level rather than nationally. Louisiana became the first state to pass such a law in 2022. Twenty-six states now have laws in effect while dozens of additional bills are under consideration or pending implementation, according to the Free Speech Coalition.

Leah Plunkett, a Harvard Law School faculty member and author of "Sharenthood," said children have long shown ingenuity in circumventing adult rules. She noted that a growing number of states across political lines are adopting age-assurance measures as part of privacy and online safety laws.

"Parents who are worried about the content their children consume online can talk with their children about how to spot and avoid misleading, fake, or otherwise harmful content," Plunkett said. She also encouraged developing broader digital citizenship skills such as consuming non-digital media like books.

The survey is part of an annual series Internet Matters has conducted since 2021 examining children's online behavior. " — Rachel Huggins, Internet Matters CEO (2026, Internet Matters report) The findings illustrate the limits of technological age gates even as governments expand their use.

Children reported continuing exposure to harmful material while many viewed the verification systems as readily circumvented.