Grindr and other platforms implement age verification checks under new Ofcom rules
The Online Safety Act comes into effect today (25 July 2025) – here's what you need to know
By Aaron Sugg
New guidelines issued by UK media regulator Ofcom state that online platforms allowing the sharing of NSFW content must implement effective age verification measures starting today (25 July).
The rules apply to a wide range of online services, including adult websites, social media platforms and dating apps such as Grindr, where users can access or share sexually explicit content.
According to Andy Lulham, chief operating officer at online safety provider Verifymy, the regulations are designed to crack down on under 18s accessing pornographic material.
“This raises the drawbridge on adult content for underage users,” Lulham said in a statement.
“From today, platforms that host – or allow users to share – explicit material must use age assurance technology to check that visitors to their website are 18 years old.”
“Grindr has always been a space for queer adults”
The measures are part of a bigger strategy under the Online Safety Act, which requires platforms to enforce strict verification rules or face regulatory penalties.
Platforms have already started to comply. Grindr has rolled out a new age verification feature for UK-based users to prevent underage access to the gay dating app.
In a blog post by the Grindr editorial team at the beginning of July, they said: “This age assurance process reinforces what Grindr has always been: a space for queer adults.”
“A range of highly effective age assurance tools”
Lulham said that, rather than the previously common tick-box approach, platforms will now implement more advanced forms of age verification:“[Users] will now encounter a range of highly effective age assurance tools that can either verify this, like credit card checks, or estimate it to a high degree of certainty.”
He added: “The latter methods — including email-based and facial age estimation — do not require an ID document and return results in seconds.”
“It’s a matter of when, not if”
Ofcom is to monitor sites for compliance and enforce the new rules through formal oversight mechanisms under the Act.
The Chief Operating Officer condoled: “It’s a matter of when, not if, explicit or harmful content online will be shielded from children, making a safer internet for everyone.”