Death Stranding 2 Photo Mode Lets Players Bypass UK Age Verification
Death Stranding 2 photo mode can circumvent age verification systems, which is strange because the UK has severe internet safety rules. People who play games are exploiting the realistic face of their in-game avatar to get around checks on sites like Reddit and Discord. This makes me worry even more about how accurate AI-powered age recognition actually is.
Gamers Use Death Stranding 2 to Trick Facial Scanners
From 25 July 2025, various places in the UK had to check people’s ages. Some people soon came up with a smart way to get around the problem with Death Stranding 2. Dany Sterkhov said that gamers can turn on the game’s photo mode and put their phone camera at the screen. The game’s realistic character, Sam Bridges, mislead AI into thinking he’s a real adult.
Reddit and Discord Systems Fooled
This method works especially well on Reddit and Discord. Both platforms use facial recognition tools like Persona and k-ID. On Discord, users passed tests by moving Sam’s mouth on screen. Reddit’s system asked users to shift his face—and accepted it.
Not All Systems Are Tricked
Bluesky didn’t fall for the trick. It uses Yoti, a facial age estimation tool. Yoti, also used by Instagram, correctly identified the image as a game character, not a real person.
Privacy Risks and Tech Gaps Exposed
This approach seems like a safer way for people who don’t want to share their ID cards or credit card information. But it also shows a big problem with present technology. How safe are these systems if a video game character can trick them?
This event shows how important it is to have improved safety measures. As digital corporations push for AI-based checks, people come up with innovative ways to keep anonymous. That is starting new discussions about privacy, safety, and trust in automated systems.
