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u/Adam5742 Jun 10 '26
still better than asking for a photo of your id to verify imo
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u/redlaWw Jun 10 '26
In the UK, they ask that you add a credit card to your account to prove that you're 18+.
Which is great for those of us who are over 18 but don't have a credit card.
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u/generaltjb1 Jun 10 '26
It's stupid, my account is over 18 years old but I still need a fucking credit card to access shit
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u/ToXiiCBULLET Jun 13 '26
yeah, it doesn't make sense at all. nexusmods made it so if your account is over a certain amount of years old then you don't need to verify your age, they're a uk company too so they're going to be following the rules right. my nexus account is just over 12 years old and i didn't need to verify my age.
steam could do the exact same thing but we've been stuck with just credit card verification for a while now
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u/Kagerae Jun 10 '26
My credit score is almost perfect, the APP even tells me to get a credit card to increase my credit score.
I asked my bank for a credit card.
They said no. (:
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u/iced_tea_dachshund Jun 10 '26
How tf do they make money off someone with a perfect credit score?
There's a point where it could be too high
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u/Triairius Jun 10 '26
A credit store can’t be too high. Having some debt is good for your credit score.
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u/Triekmore Jun 10 '26
A credit score too high?
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u/CringyBoi42069 Jun 11 '26
How credit card companies make money is from interest of people going into manageable debt that they can pay back so they aren't going to give you a credit card if you pay everything on time because they don't make money then
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u/Triekmore Jun 11 '26
refused service because you're too good of a customer is insane
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u/Aggravating_Mix_4211 Jun 12 '26
Well if the business is selling money you can't expect it to have normal rules
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u/Hydra57 Jun 12 '26 edited Jun 12 '26
That’s what all those convenience fees in businesses are for. The credit card company makes like a 500% profit per transaction.
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u/ObtuseMongooseAbuse Jun 11 '26
Check to see if your bank does secured credit cards. It's a bit different with you needing to deposit some money to start but pretty much anybody can get one thanks to that as long as they're an adult.
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u/FaCe_CrazyKid05 Jun 11 '26
I will still forever stand by this being the best option. Keyword there is option, though. This should be the primary way to verify and there should be other options for people who don’t have a credit card. I don’t want to have to hand over a picture of my ID to age verify anywhere
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u/E-2theRescue Jun 11 '26
I don't want to ID verify anywhere.
It's not my fault that children are being exposed to eating disorders, porn, and shit. It's the fault of the social media companies that purposely gear their algorithms to it, and the fault of parents who don't watch their kids.
Fuck the nanny state, and fuck the nanny state's 1984 mass surveillance.
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u/redlaWw Jun 11 '26
Oh I agree, I'm not blaming steam for choosing an approach that maximally protects my privacy. Honestly, I'm more pissed at the government for implementing such a stupid rule without a plan to allow vendors to check my age without violating my privacy (or without having to rely on GDPR that is fallible).
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u/TheBirdNamedSparrow I use Arch btw Jun 10 '26
Yes exactly!
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u/FinGAMERyt Jun 10 '26
Out of context but W pfp
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u/TheBirdNamedSparrow I use Arch btw Jun 10 '26
lol ty
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u/Olusen_bg Jun 10 '26
I found a distro called Arch but never heard of Arch btw, saw that a lot online
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u/Little-Evening2956 Jun 10 '26 edited Jun 10 '26
...just wait. It'll come soon enough.
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u/FinGAMERyt Jun 10 '26
I have read from some discussion that after the roblox incident, a lot of companies are doing this. But this time not because they're stuck in a similar situation like roblox. They are doing because they are getting the chance to take personal information from the users now.
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u/windowpuncher Jun 10 '26
Well yeah. Totally don't get or make a fake ID as an adult of legal age, that would be illegal.
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u/ClikeX Jun 10 '26
Age checks are ready coming to Windows and MacOS in California. Even just using the PC is getting locked.
Linux is exempt btw.
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u/Nukalixir Jun 10 '26
Don't shill for Linux...Don't shill for Linux... Fo not be "that guy" and advertise Linux...
I wonder if you could circumvent that by using Proton VPN to obfuscate your location before downloading updates?
Nailed it!
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u/josh_the_misanthrope Jun 10 '26
I'll shill for it then. If you are reading this, are mildly competent with computers, and Linux is capable of running the software you need, dump Windows. Don't get voluntarily spied on and advertised to, in a product you paid for, so that another mega corporation can profit off you so much they can buy elections to prevent AI regulation. Fuck that noise.
The water is pretty nice now, jump in.
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u/Rock_Strongo Jun 10 '26
and Linux is capable of running the software you need
90% of it? Yeah. The 10% it's not? Non-starter for me.
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u/josh_the_misanthrope Jun 10 '26
Yeah, obviously doesn't make sense in that case. For me, it plays the games I want and was already using mostly open source software already (Godot, Blender, FreeCAD etc...) so it's been pretty much all upside.
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u/NotASellout Jun 11 '26
Age checks are ready coming to Windows and MacOS in California.
Well I'm not fucking doing that
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u/fluffysnowcap Jun 10 '26
If you're British and on stream you need a credit card, and well not everyone has one.
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u/ElegantPearl Jun 10 '26
Yeah I don’t have one despite being well past 18 because I’ve never had the need for one yet
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u/fluffysnowcap Jun 11 '26
According to the ONS, 18 to 64 age group has 4 credit cards on average and only ⅓ of that group has any. So not having one is probably a good move
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u/Chickennoodlesleuth Jun 10 '26
I swear this is posted weekly https://steamcommunity.com/games/593110/announcements/detail/1708442022337025126
Q: Why do you KEEP asking my damn age throughout the store?
A: We're with you on this. Unfortunately, many rating agencies have rules that stipulate that we cannot save your age for longer than a single browsing session. It's frustrating, but know we're filling out those age gates too.
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u/LaPrincesaMX Jun 10 '26
It's the European ones.
Just to clear that up.
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Jun 10 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/snorlz Jun 10 '26
ESRB has no power to enforce anything. Theyre a private org and cant actually do anything but the rest of the industry listens to them for some reason
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u/SkepsisJD Jun 10 '26
Yep, them and the MPAA. There is no law saying a minor can't watch an R-rated movie. It is always just theater policy.
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u/red__dragon Jun 10 '26
There is no law
The MPAA's rating system was specifically created to exempt the need for laws. At the time, they were terrified that Congress would pass censorship laws unfavorable to their industry (and creativity?). Recall that Hollywood also self-censored via the Hays Code, and this was another response to legislation that was starting to censor film by law.
The MPAA will enforce those ratings and policies to demonstrate that they remain self-policing and there's no need for legislative action.
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Jun 10 '26
[deleted]
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u/SkepsisJD Jun 10 '26
I meant to say alone, good catch. But again, it is just company policy. A 6 year old can buy a ticket to a NC-17 movie and nothing would happen as a result.
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u/ReftLight Jun 10 '26
Everyone listens to the ESRB because it's self-regulated. Without it, the federal government would eventually step in which no one wants.
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u/DaEnderAssassin 64 Jun 11 '26
Yep. Don't want another situation like the one where a president of Nintendo unintentionally lies to the US government.
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Jun 10 '26 edited 10d ago
[deleted]
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u/Training_Ruin3151 Jun 10 '26
Oh Neptune!!! Not cite the rating?!? Dear god what would we do without that😭😭😭😭
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u/Separate_Emotion_463 Jun 10 '26
While it’d have minor impacts today it was very relevant in the past, as a lot of retailers would refuse to sell games without an age rating
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u/Organic-Storm-4448 Jun 10 '26
The ESRB was created by the games industry to avoid government intervention. They listen to the ESRB because the ESRB is run by the games industry. They're listening to themselves.
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u/BajingoWhisperer Jun 10 '26
Don't have to do this shit on Xbox or PlayStation.
And steam doesn't listen to them anyway they're a private organization. They have no legal teeth
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u/ERhyne Jun 10 '26
Yup because the EU has better consumer protections than the US.
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u/TheFrogMoose Jun 10 '26
It's one of those things where this is preferable to being absolutely fucked because people with money for some reason don't like money
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u/Obvious_Peanut_8093 Jun 10 '26
how does self reported age gating protect consumers? kids have been getting past this shit for years, its totally performative for liability reasons.
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u/holliss Jun 10 '26
how does self reported age gating protect consumers?
By storing less of your personal information. The age gating itself is a completely separate issue.
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u/TheWhiteRabbitY2K Jun 10 '26
Honestly TIL, cause I always wondered why they couldn't save my BD to my account
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u/Knarz97 Jun 10 '26
Then they need to let us opt-in to them saving my data for longer. I’m perfectly happy giving them my birthdate. It’s not exactly private information.
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u/farazormal Jun 11 '26
They’re saying it’s not because of privacy rules, but ratings agencies, the age verification each time is required by them
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u/omegadirectory Jun 10 '26
We need to start banning these posts or these users
Put up a sticky post on this sub and call it a day
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u/Few-Improvement-5655 Jun 10 '26
Here's the thing though, they wouldn't be asking for your age, they'd be asking for the account age, and since the account cannot be transferred by their own TOS, they can infer you are the correct age.
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Jun 10 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Chickennoodlesleuth Jun 10 '26
There already is, steamdb skips it and you can install it into the steam client
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u/Tenalp Jun 11 '26
Meanwhile, I spent like 6 years with my age listed as a month off trying desperately to figure out how to reset it because it messed with my OCD and being told that I can't.
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u/Myspaced0tcom Jun 10 '26
I hope they never save the date somewhere bc I have putting in random dates forever
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u/TheAlaine Jun 10 '26
So you also a veteran of both world wars like me?
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u/coreyf234 Jun 10 '26
Takes too long to scroll back that far, I'm usually a millennial born some time between like 85' and 95'.
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u/CatchAcceptable3898 Jun 10 '26
"Either you are lying about your age, or you're account sharing with A LOT of different people. Whatever the case, your account has been suspended until for information is provided."
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u/Time-Sudden_Tree Jun 11 '26
It is saved, but I'm pretty sure just in a cookie. Because my browser never saves the date I entered (I set cookies to delete the moment I close the tab), but the Steam app always defaults to 1/1/1901 when I browse the store from there instead of Firefox.
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u/Jazzlike_Lie5631 Jun 10 '26
I just use the SteamDB browser extension which automatically skips over this annoyance (and also provides pricing history and other nice to have things as well)
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u/Xx_Falcon_Lover_xX Jun 10 '26
Does that work for both web browsers and the steam client? Sounds cool.
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u/stefanopolis Jun 10 '26
Everyone: I’m sick of all these companies storing all my data!
Valve: we won’t store your data
Everyone: no, not like that
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u/mxzf Jun 10 '26
Nobody's suggesting they should store data they're not already storing. But the account age is intrinsically a lower-bound for the user's age, so looking at the account age as a proxy for the user's age is sufficient data to derive certain information about the user's age even without collecting the exact information or storing it.
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u/Maleficent-Clue5056 Jun 10 '26
there is absolutely no way to store the data client side?
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u/BrennusSokol Jun 10 '26
It's frustrating. Recently it showed me an age verification for a game I already owned!
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u/Spacedestructor Jun 11 '26
i get age verification for workshop items im subscribed to so many times simply just because a single piece of clothing is missing, it can get stupid so quickly.
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u/AnmolFTW Jun 10 '26
Its there because what if someone else is using your pc maybe the kids in your home , thats why its there
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u/Steely-eyes Jun 10 '26
And we all know kids never lie.
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u/MoistStub Jun 10 '26
Are you suggesting I clicked the "I am 18+" button on porn sites as a young teen? I would never.
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u/bobbingtonbobsson Jun 10 '26
Why yes, pornhub, I was definitely born in 1876.
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u/SpecialistFelt389 Jun 10 '26
Of course I was there at the Battle of Hoover Dam, PornHub! Why do you ask?
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u/Danteynero9 Jun 10 '26
Not really. It's there because if Valve doesn't store this type of data, they aren't affected by any type of personal information laws.
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u/Silly_Guidance_8871 Jun 10 '26
That made me curious, and now I feel older knowing that my Steam account can now legally drink in the States.
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u/Rain_Zeros Jun 11 '26
Better yet, you have to be 13 to make a steam account, 5 years of service should bypass this screen too
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u/Spacedestructor Jun 11 '26
or 8 years, some countries can vary but in general your right.
plus they already know where your connecting from as steam sends me an email of my location on every login.
So they could use that to check what the correct legal age for you is.
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u/StaticSystemShock Jun 10 '26
It's further annoying that I have credit card on it, that account is that old and I also have year of birth in my profile yet it keeps fucking asking me for age when viewing certain games. So stupid.
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u/void-organizer Jun 11 '26
idk about y'all, but atleast they saved my date choice, so i could just click "view page"
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u/shenther Jun 11 '26
I don't know what year they brought that in but I don't care. I still have some stupid date range set and I cbf updating it to be correct.
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u/TheUnspeakableh Jun 11 '26
Laws say it's not enough and they have to ask. Other laws say they can't store that info, so they have to ask every time to stay in compliance.
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u/Gilga1 Jun 11 '26
You know in the end this always makes me happy because it shows that steam doesn’t harvest our data.
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u/AngryTurtleGaming Jun 11 '26
My birthday is Jan 1, 1900
I remember my first steam game, Hoop Stick, we’d just chase around a metal hoop and hit it with a stick, we were merry and gay fellows back then I must say.
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u/ares0027 http://steam.pm/gng1 Jun 10 '26
Current way; “we asked them and they said they are over 18. Not our fault”
Your proposed way; “we calculated that user shall be over 18 because account is so. We didnt know they werent. Sorry. Our faylt”
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u/The_Wkwied Jun 10 '26
Because Steam does not allow you to transfer your account ownership, even in death, then it should be entirely reasonable to assume that the user's age is equal to or greater than the account age.
And, if ever a case where that turns into a problem because it is not true, Valve is still in the clear with their EULA saying that you need to be over 18, and that you lied, or you transferred the account ownership... so they have grounds to ban your account.
That said, I'm not aware of any children who have illegally inherited or used their parent's steam account, have also lied about their age, and it has turned into a legal mess.
I am also confident that Valve doesn't care if you leave your login creds in your will
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u/Spacedestructor Jun 11 '26
just never say someone transferred the account to you and your in the clear.
how could valve tell the difference between a transfer and a user simply getting a new computer and moving to a new location between logins?
its not like they have some magical option they can use to definitively prove something is a transfer and not an alternative option that looks the same.→ More replies (2)3
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u/DJDevon3 Jun 10 '26
Even if your account is legally old enough to drink alcohol in the US, it still won't change anything. This is a real screenshot (with my badge photoshopped in).
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u/trekxtrider Jun 10 '26
I keep putting in my birthday as Jan 1 1900 and that works fine. Nothin stopping this 126 year old gamer.
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u/Arikaido777 Jun 11 '26
blame the ratings bodies and, at a larger scale, people who are too incompetent to parent their own children and want their government to do it for them. they’re the reason for the ratings in the first place
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u/Ubermensch5272 Jun 11 '26
Crazy idea, OP, I know it's hard to use reasoning, but sometimes other people might end up using the account.
Kids, other family members etc.
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u/SyXxxxxxxxxxx Jun 11 '26
Probably just in case the users son/daughter inherits the account
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u/BeanBagLlama Jun 11 '26
I Wheel of Fortune that age verification drop down every time.
How old am I? Only Gabe knows.
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u/ferrari20094 Jun 11 '26
Steam: why is almost everyone who visits restricted pages born on January 1st?
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u/_kio Jun 11 '26
Steam has got to throw a birthday party on new year for ... *checks notes * ... 95% of their users?
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u/Able_Experience_1670 Jun 11 '26
It's a legal requirement that they ask in many countries.
Still would be nice though.
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u/barbzilla1 Jun 11 '26
Legally speaking it is because other people can access the machine that the account is running on. At the same time I think it's silly because people can just put in whatever date they want anyway.
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u/Tooma8 Jun 10 '26
These popups exist for legal reasons and account doesn't legally prove user age
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u/demZo662 Jun 10 '26 edited Jun 10 '26
It will be year 2100 and Steam will still ask age verification on an already deceased account owner.
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u/MDParagon Jun 10 '26
Because they aren't storing it anywhere, not even your browser. You have to tell them you are legal of age to comply with legality. this is the middle ground for compliance
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u/IntronD Jun 10 '26
As I understood it is because they don't know where you are and what situation you are in so won't show content with out checking etc with you. Like you can override the choice on if you see it at all be nice if you could override it as well for this my accounts old enough to drink it should be able to bypass this my kids have their own
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u/TehRiddles Jun 10 '26
According to support it isn't enough for the law in the UK, they still have to ask and verify your age via a credit card.
Apple apparently say your account is old enough to confirm you're an adult so you don't have to do anything.
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u/Fearless-Door-8891 Jun 10 '26
So your telling me if I have 18 years of service of steam without putting in an age I still gotta put in my age for 18+ games?
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u/dsmwookie Jun 11 '26
My account is old enough to buy bear, stop making me do this....
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u/C0de_otter Jun 11 '26
Damn, how old do you have to be to buy a bear?/j seriously though it never remembers the date on my or my mom's account and it annoys the hell outta both of us
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u/Fair-Promise4552 Jun 11 '26
yes, sir, ive been around WWI and WWII and still want to install this gotcha game
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u/Witty-Individual7010 Jun 11 '26
My account was from 2011, I shouldn't have to do this as there is no 3 year old out here making Steam accounts in 2026 let allow 2011
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u/Terrible_Welcome8817 Jun 11 '26
My Steam account is 18 as well. Should I sent it off the to AI wars?
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u/Ptolomy15 Jun 12 '26
Man i should only have to put it in once and steam just saves it not pop it back up for every single game with age requirements
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u/GodOfRage-baiting Jun 12 '26
Gaben schließt Zeitreisen halt nicht einfach kategorisch aus dass wäre rassistisch gegen alle zeitreisenden
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u/Lurus01 Jun 10 '26
Its a legal requirement to ask once per session and to be fair they can't just assume an old account means the one opening the page is the account holder.
I could definitely see someone attempting lawsuits because a younger sibling or something saw something on the homepage if account age was all it took to prove age.
Heck they don't care if you lie but the fact the prompt protects them in court to be able to say the user accepted the terms and agreed they were old enough.
I'd also rather enter this then have Steam store more personal data or other countries that make age verification even more of a hassle.
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u/Neith_51 Jun 10 '26
It's funnier to pretend I'm a hundred years old, though