Wow that’s unbelievably shitty.
Can you opt out of Apple’s facial age scan?
You cannot opt out and retain full access. If you decline the facial scan, you can still use your device but lose the ability to download 18+ apps, change certain Screen Time and parental control settings, or complete other age-gated actions. You can use alternative verification methods — a credit card on file or a government-issued ID scan — instead of the facial scan, but there is no path that bypasses all age verification while preserving 18+ access. Apple’s gate is at the OS level, meaning there is no alternative app store or side-loading pathway on iOS that bypasses it.
Apple was not a willing participant. The company previously fought the law, describing it as requiring collection of “sensitive personal identifying information” for every Texan who wants to download an app. Tim Cook, then CEO, personally called Governor Greg Abbott urging a veto. A federal judge blocked the law in December 2025 on First Amendment grounds. The Fifth Circuit lifted that block in June 2026. On July 6, 2026, the Supreme Court declined to block enforcement while the underlying case continues.
I guess goodbye Apple. It’s nice when they make it easy for you to walk away.
Maybe states need to stop “but think of the children!!!” laws that compel companies to add these features, when the real threats facing children are republicans who want to personally check their gender so “boys don’t play girls sports”.
Apple fought this, as commented before but if a law is enacted, regardless of how stupid it is, Apple is forced to comply with it along with all other tech companies. By baking it into the OS, Apple is at least making it a privacy-conscious way to pass an age range to apps that need verification too without forcing a user to give up private data to every app without proper privacy safeguards. In essence Apple is verifying in a private way and using that decision as a “we got it” verification apps can rely on.
Don’t buy an iPhone? Ok. Got it.
Or, don’t get 18+ apps. I don’t think that going to The Other mobile operating system will prevent age checks in the long or even medium term.
When age checks are mandated by law, it’s probably better to have them in the OS so you have to prove maturity to only one party instead of uploading your photo ID to the verification partners of a dozen apps. Furthermore, Apple and Google are sophisticated enough to do this in a way that cockblocks what I suspect governments really want out of this, which is outsourcing the surveillance state.
I mean what’s the alternative? You can get an Android phone but they’ll likely have to submit to all the same regulations. You can get a Linux phone but the reviews I’ve seen of those are not great. You pretty much can’t buy anything else that’s functional and offers a safe communication method.
Right! Which means…(insert obvious conclusion of enshittification here)
Question, why a selfie instead of the Face ID tech?
Face ID verifies identity, which works if you use “alternative verification methods — a credit card on file or a government-issued ID scan — instead of the facial scan”. Basically, if you have Apple Pay through a valid credit card or Digital ID set up, your identity and age can be verified when you use Face ID. But if you don’t have either set up, you have to use age estimation, which requires cloud processing and that requires selfies because Face ID data cannot leave the Secure Enclave/Exclave.
Oh right, I forgot about the Enclave stuff, it’s just like how your fingerprints also never leave the device on an Android yeah?
In my mind I thought apps could access the data locally because I have seen Face Tracking apps for the iPhone, but I guess what they’re actually using is the depth sensor.
Thanks!
