Age Verification Feedback

The automated system Persona uses fails to identify any form of ID I provide. Despite using every form of ID that’s available to me and trying it under different lighting conditions I get the same result. This system seems to have no way of falling back on some other form of age verification. The extent of customer support I’ve gotten on this subject so far is being told to try again. Are there plans to provide alternative methods of age verification so that people don’t get unfairly excluded through no fault of their own?

Hey Team! Lately we are seeing more worlds add in "age checking" at the entrances of worlds (even with the option for AV only instances available). It would be very useful if world creators had access to call on AV through Udon to help groups run their lobbies a bit more smoothly and help provide them that extra level of security. Being able to access AV through Udon, lets world creators do some of the following as example: The option for groups to auto allow AV users into the world, while stopping non AV users at the door to manually check. You could provide AV users with an icon above their head. (With a toggle hopefully). Let AV users toggle on game modes that may be more targeted towards 18+ users. Restrict certain area's of a world. Restrict users from entering a world which main theme is adult/"NSFW"/ or not suitable for below -18. ( 'Age Gating' should cover this already, but at the moment you don't need to prove ID when making your VRChat account, so this would solidify it) Automated content adjustments for different age groups -18 & +18 instead of blocking younger users fully or non-verified, worlds could dynamically adjust gameplay, visuals & mechanics. Helpful in overall moderation tools for admins/groups. Enhanced trust for community worlds and create a more trustworthy environment. Improves the reputation of VRChat as a 'safer' social platform. I am sure there are many other examples/features that world creators can add that allows groups to run their lobbies more smoothly and safely, these were just a handful of ideas submitted by the community. Thanks!

I would love the ability to add the age verification, maybe a symbol on my nameplate. So when entering 18+ instances. I can quickly show my verification. Or being able to quickly see someone is of age without digging through a menu.

So when can non vrc users get age verify?

This will make everything so much better. Its simple and very easy to bring in.

Per the updated FAQ for the announcement of Age Verification, I would like to suggest a hard limit of at least 1 or at most 2 alts who are eligible for the same age verification. People may have alts for various reasons, some being that they may not want people who know their main VRC account name (especially if that name exists outside of VRC on other platforms) and may not want to engage with the more hardcore gated content (cough18+STUFFcough) for fear of other users maliciously looking them up and then harassing them on other platforms or even irl. I realize that may be an extreme example, but I can imagine I am not the only one who has their VRC name as their other socials and tries to keep it as professional as possible especially those that are creators. And while you could just say... "Well. Then just verify your alt account." ...and I could just do that, but what if in doing so I lock my main account off from my favorite worlds and or avatars should those world/avatar creators put their creations behind Age Verification gates. I apologize in advance if this was hard to follow, I'm not the best at articulating my words, so I hope this made some sense... I would just greatly appreciate being able to keep my main and an alt with the same amount of access and not feel like I have a baby gate in my way on one or the other despite being a fully grown adult. -_-

From the Beta launch (VRC+), we adopted an 18+ gated policy for our 24/7 instances and Parties to create a safe, dedicated environment for adult interactions. Although this move has led to a drop in overall traffic and user adoption, it sends a clear message about our commitment to proper moderation and user safety. In contrast, many groups in VRChat still operate non-gated 13+ instances, even while hosting adult activities, citing cost or fairness or not 'trusting' the system. This inconsistency is problematic. When spaces meant for adult interactions are not 18+ they should be scrutinised (by VRC moderation) to ensure that moderation is not merely user-driven. Our position is simple: if adult activities are taking place, they should do so in 18+ Gated instances that enforce strict standards for safety and moderation. This isn’t about sidestepping discussions by focusing on "against TOS", it’s about ensuring that instances, especially those open to younger users, are held to a higher standard to protect all participants. Will VRC be cracking down on adult content happening in non-gated instances specifically? If so, this (bans) could send a clear message that adult behaviour/content is not acceptable in non-gated (13+) instances.

VRChat has determined Persona can be trusted with a photo of your face and government ID. Persona is a VC-backed (arguably "tech bro") San Franciscan tech startup that's only existed since 2018. They operate out of a shared space behind a bar: https://maps.app.goo.gl/t5ebyhr9oTUhupMf9 Their privacy policy says (as I read it) that they explicitly have permission to take your personal information (selfie, photo of your government ID) and store it for years, and can and will send it to "vendors, agents...companies we've hired to provide customer service support..." and to "law enforcement [and] other government agencies." They say they'll use your personal information "to understand you and your preferences to enhance your experience and enjoyment" and for the purposes of "marketing, including to communicate with you about new services, offers, promotions, rewards, contests, upcoming events, and other information about our services and those of our selected partners..." and for "advertising, including display [sic] advertising to you..." Their privacy policy site also uses clickjacking to prevent you from copying the text of their privacy policy: https://withpersona.com/legal/privacy-policy These doesn't seem like the actions of a legitimate and trustworthy company, and there aren't enough guarantees that you won't be literally doxxing yourself. PII is extremely valuable and there's an entire industry of brokers that facilitate the sale and transfer of people's personal information--not to mention the risk of hacking, accidental disclosure, or a new and untrustworthy company being sloppy or reckless. These days AI can train off a photo of your face, and scams and identify fraud are extremely common. Personally, the only times I've had to provide a photo of myself holding an ID are for once-in-a-lifetime financial transactions. Never for a video game or social media. VRChat is willing to take the chance of making this de-facto-mandatory (i.e., the community normalizes it and it results in a greatly degraded experience if you don't comply)? The ask is a severe imposition and an invasion of privacy without adequate concern that the chosen data broker is trustworthy. Even the announcement incorrectly claimed your PII would be handled in accordance to the GDPR, but the company is actually based out of California, where regulations are far less strict, and fines far less burdensome.

I thought there was a canny for this already but I couldn't find it. I feel like the red for 18+ is a bit harsh and makes it feel a bit more scandalous than it actually is. I think changing it to purple or orange to mimic trust ranks would be a lot better and make it feel less like a marker you'd see on a sexually explicit website.

I’d like to propose an expansion of the age-gating feature to include other instance types beyond group instances. Not everyone has access to a group they can host events through, nor do some users typically host 18+ events in group instances; these events are usually held in private instances, such as Invite+. Allowing anyone to create an age-gated instance would potentially better serve the community, especially adults who prefer to interact with others in their general age group without needing to rely on group instances.