(Not sure if this is worldwide or only in some countries)
Updating to iOS 26.4DB2 will put your phone into a parental-restricted mode with adult websites blocked on all browsers, warning prompts every time you try to send or receive an explicit image on a messaging app, and all social media apps blocked on the App Store (in Australia)
The settings to disable this mode are locked off until you verify your age either with a credit card, photo ID, or though information Apple already has (like the age of your account).
I’ve been an apple user my entire adult life but this might finally be the thing that forces me off the platform. Do any other long term apple users have some tips about migrating? I’ve heard Ashai Linux is pretty good on mac hardware these days and I’ve been thinking about GrapheneOS for a while.
So now California has a governor pretending to be pro-Palestine to do damage control while signing laws that give Zionist corporations more control over your data and hardware
If you ever thought Gavin was anti-Trump, I have news for you 😄
Oh he’s anti-Trump alright. But that’s just meaning that he wants to take Trump’s place.
So what’s actually going on in Cali for them to have such a douchebag governor?
Probably strong influence from corporations, billionaires, other wealthy people, and NIMBYs, along with fearmongering from establishment media to distract from actual problems. And Democrats realizing they can’t win on a pro-genocide platform so now they have to at least pretend to give a shit.
Fuck Trump tho am I rite?
Yes but Trump isn’t the one doing the age verification mandates
This isnt where I parked my car.
Fuuuuck with apple doing this, I wonder how long we have until this BS enters Android and Linux Kernel.
Lmao good fucking luck enforcing this on Linux. There’s no central authority to handle age verification, and even if there was, it’d take less than a week for someone to make a patched version of whatever tool they use that just… Autoreports that you’re an adult no matter what.
There are many distros. And you can build kernels from source.
Well when we have to comply we can make a build flag everyone shut toggle off…
I suggest simply never complying. Anyone who does is a traitor. This is FOSS, they have no control over us.
I suggest simply never complying.
While this is the best. it is not feasible. Not many open source projects can just pay millions on fines and not think about it. Idiots making these laws cant enforce it but they will try in the only way they know. Fine and fine and fine untill a project dies.
Forgive my confusion but could they not choose to lock out web traffic without a verification? Lets say your ISP joins and says that you need x bullshit token from the government to us it, then what?
How would they have to pay any fines if they simply say we are no longer for use in xyz place doing age verification?
Second, how would payment be enforced when there is no organization to fine?
Something in gut hub can still be “in development.” Nobody has to comply with every regulation before they are finished. Goddamn these vultures. They’ve been nonstop since SOPA and PIPA back in 2010 or whenever.
Wait, send explicit images? I’m not a child, I get that on these platforms my privacy is pretty well gone, but is it explicitly known (confirmed from the source) that these companies scan your images too?
That feels extra fucked up. Like "hold on a sec bucko let me check this photo you’re trying to send real quick to make sure it’s not titties "
They definitely do. That’s how you can search photos by their content on iOS or android.
where do you think they got the database for their porn generating llms?
I love how big corp is already ready. It’s almost as if they somehow knew all along that all the govs with bribable legislators would be making laws they all seemed to arbitrarily adopt at once. Can’t wait for the shill AI slop response to this comment making it seem like a good idea.
Yep
Google tried a few years back but there was pushback. Google will slowly boil the frog tho.
You can build browsers from source. And import open hardware from China. RISCV is getting close to usable, these days.
You can buy them now, because the US hasn’t banned their import yet, but that’s what these laws will lead to.
When general computing is outlawed, only outlaws will have general computers.
I’ll meet you in the digital underground, netizen.
“Must be outside of California, Colorado, and Brazil to download this Linux ISO”
“Must be outside of California, Colorado, and Brazil to proceed with installation”
I’m in canada!
oh i’m not in California, I’m in Egypt. I’m waist deep in denial.
Which do y’all think is worse? [Serious]
I don’t do serious, sorry
Eventually: must be in Antarctica to use this distro
I know this isn’t the point of the article, but I’m starting to get really pissy about software updates implementing high-level non-security related changes to my fucking fully paid for device!
It doesn’t do anything but I’m starting to refuse to agree to any new user agreements.
It’s pretty much nothing.
I have 3 different AI agents that were forced onto my phone between Google, Samsung, and Microsoft.
It’ll be baked into the ToS somewhere but I agree it’s bullshit. Years ago I bought a youtuber downloader app (I know I should’ve just used yt-dl) and they released an update that removed support for half the websites and locked them behind a new higher-priced tier. None of it was mentioned in the changelog, just a prompt that came up after you’d installed the new build. I was able to reinstall the previous version and keep using it but I was still so pissed off
its been 4 months and I am not regret about my switch to GrapheneOS. The only thing that can make this 100% perfect is creating a Google account that does not tie to your phone number.
So you need a phone number these days? That’s something I’ve read a lot of mixed reports about
in some cases where they have good enough info about you already (creating from an android phone that isn’t “fishy” enough, etc), you can create a google acc without associating a phone number, at least it’s not shown on the google account info menu.
yes some Play store apps are country specific so instead of switching my default country, which stupid Google only allows 1 per year btw, I want to create different profiles with different Google accounts. You cannot do that without showing that these accounts belong to whichever phone number you have
If the West follows into the footsteps of the propaganda they are spreading against China, I’d rather go live in China because at least there people don’t live paycheck to paycheck despite working multiple jobs. Every accusation against China was a confession.
Some people in tier 1 cities don’t live like that, but the vast majority do. As an average person, you would not enjoy China more than your western country.
Thank you, Tim Apple, for making 2026 the year of the Linux desktop (but not necessarily the Ubuntu, Fedora, or Mint desktop).
(but not necessarily the Ubuntu, Fedora, or Mint desktop).
Rut. Thanks for ruining my day, sigh. That shit better be a patch away from removal / spoofing…
I’m hoping the implementation is something like ‘check this box to confirm you’re over 18,’ and nothing more.
I have a Macbook air now. Do you recommend me to buy a Lenovo thinkpad? Qubes os is the top pick, I heard.
Linux can run on macbooks, you can probably look up the model online and see if it has good support. I used to run debian on a macbook, though that macbook was from 2013 or something like that.
On the other hand, if you can sell your macbook and get more than a good thinkpad (for your use) is selling for, I would do that.
The air model has a M4 chip. Fedora, Whonix and Quebo doesn’t support… I’ll wait for another months.
I’ve been an apple user my entire adult life
It’s time to grow up.
You think this isn’t coming to other devices? Google will presumably add this to Android and apps will follow suit by looking to the OS to verify your age so other forks will probably have to add it. Linux on smartphones is dead in the water so what’s the alternative?
You think google wont do this?
I’ll figure out a way to bypass this or switch to Linux entirely.
And then probably end up in a camp.
The example of the age of your account made me realize I’m old
Wow I just checked when the first purchase was made on my Apple account, turns out it’s old enough to vote
Could someone share a non alarmist take here? I have seen posts elsewhere that apple’s “using information we already have to assign you an age-range” is better than other more invasive methods.
I (regrettably) acquiesced when prompted to use this method in order to access health insurance app. Am I cooked? permanent all powerful spyware time?
It’s likely that Apple already has age data on you because they collect all kinds of data including payment details from you. If you use any paid apple service (pay for apps on the app store, pay for music, or cloud services, use the air tags etc), it’s likely they already know your age.
The reason to be worried about this isn’t because now apple has this information, but because of the progression of this information being demanded, shared, and hoarded by less secure age verification services.
Anyone hoarding personal identifying information is a target for criminal enterprises that want that information.
Apple can be hacked, but you have to evaluate your threat model and what information you’ve already given them, as well as what information is already out there on the internet about you.
Extant information is safer than just uploading an id (which is what the laws want). No one needs to know your birthdate or identity if your account is 18 years old. No one needs to know your birthdate or identity if you have a cc on file (you gotta be an adult to have a credit card and therefore to have credit card on file).
This is the best possible solution, where there isn’t a requirement to upload a scan of a government issued id.
Presumably if there’s a switch to turn it on then there’s also a switch to turn it back off again.
Not necessarily. Write once memory, fuses, etc. can make that a one way Street
What if you sell your phone?
I’m not saying that it’s been thought through for this particular use case… Just saying that you can make one way changes
yeah that’s a fair thought. it was more of a push notification than a switch.
i had a cursory look around and didn’t find it but i could ask apple support
Majority will accept it, they dont care and governments and corpos like this
