Show HN: NextDNS Adds "Bypass Age Verification"
33 comments
·August 17, 2025freedomben
It may not be effective in the long term, but I think it's very much worth doing. The privacy nightmare of uploading government docs is appalling and should be resisted by all who can, so I think you're doing great work. If it provokes regulators to push harder, they might just get enough attention from voters to motivate a change. That would be my hope anyway
Alive-in-2025
It's a great idea to get rid of, I'm shocked a company is this brave to do this. It's not in the interest of any adult to upload their ID so the government can track their web browsing. I didn't want to expose my kid to porn when they were 5, somehow it wasn't a problem because the avg browser use was guided by me, but also the browser blocked porn. When they were a bit older, a teenager, I also lightly guided their computer use.
perihelions
As a remark, not a criticism, such a deliberate promotion is probably illegal in the UK market,
> "But Ofcom says platforms required to introduce "highly effective" methods to check user age must not host, share or permit content that encourages use of VPNs to get around age checks. The government has also told the BBC it would be illegal for platforms to do so."
walterbell
Can VPN/DNS providers independently market their services, if content providers cannot advertise VPN providers?
perihelions
> "content that encourages use of VPNs to get around age checks"
I think "...to get around age checks" is controlling. It isn't illegal to promote VPN's in that country; it's illegal to promote their usefulness in circumventing other laws.
neilcj
The law reads like it applies to platforms required to do the checks rather than third party service providers.
tester89
At least for my discord, I still can't access channels marked NSFW, instead of showing me the verification screen it just says "failed to load messages".
wolfy1993
[dead]
pyuser583
I'm a parent, and I try to keep my kids from the Internet in general, but adult parts in particular.
VPN's are great for this. Just install the VPN, have it block access to adult sites, and have it alert me of any suspicious attempts.
It's bewildering how VPN companies have branded their technology as "anti-censorship" and "privacy-focused." VPN's are a censor's best friend.
DNS services are taking the opposite approach: they start by having a censorship feature (blocking malware, adult ads, etc), and now are adding anti-censorship options.
There's nothing about connecting to a different network, or using a different DNS provider, that is anti-censorship.
ronsor
> There's nothing about connecting to a different network, or using a different DNS provider, that is anti-censorship.
In a sense, it allows you to pick your censors, or no censors. "Anti-censorship" doesn't necessarily mean that nothing is blocked; it means you get to control what's blocked for yourself.
bongodongobob
VPNs have nothing to do with it. I guess yours has some kind of filtering service, but that's not at all related to a VPN. It's like buying a V8 engine because you wanted a turbo. V8's can have turbos, but it has nothing to do with being a V8.
syntaxing
Easily one of the best $20 I spend a year. Makes iOS so much more usable and I really love supporting the vision of the developers from NextDNS
drcongo
Same. I absolutely love NextDNS.
skybrian
Glancing at the front page, it looks like this product also has enforced SafeSearch and restricted mode to protect children, so... seems fine? They're doing the same thing themselves, and it's probably better since it's a local solution.
If you're running a product like this, it should be officially allowed to bypass age verification.
baby_souffle
> We’re curious how the HN community feels about this. Is it the right way to protect privacy online, or will it just provoke regulators to push harder?
Both. May the mouse forever elude the cat in this game!
If you’re proxying all traffic, that’s going to get expensive and - in theory - makes you as easy to block as VPN providers. I wish you the best of luck!
FiReaNG3L
Better than that at least in the UK, they are not handing the data to the government, but to unregulated, diverse third parties - what could go wrong.
puppycodes
amazing... we need more of this on the dns level
paradox460
Where is the setting configured? I just looked through my admin page and didn't see any switch for it
thewisenerd
i can see this in the settings page for a profile under the section "Bypass Age Verification"
ltbarcly3
Presenting government ID to random entities is literally what government ID's exist for. Paranoia about this is silly.
Additionally, intentionally aiding someone (especially a minor) in circumventing the law is very likely to not be legal, especially when legality is largely determined by a jury, and especially^2 when the facts of the case against you are the most egregious that the government can find, especially^3 when you are profiting from it. It will be something like a 12yo using your service to access something absolutely shocking, and you or someone else will be forced to read a detailed text description of it in front of a jury. This doesn't even begin to address civil liability.
I'm not saying what you are doing is 'wrong', I'm saying you should talk to a lawyer who specializes in this sort of thing before you are forced to.
Squeeeez
> Paranoia about this is silly.
Having had to deal with some clients with slightly sensitive data, I wish. Photocopies and printed screenshots lying around in the open, CC data copy-pasted manually to other fields or to generic excel sheets because otherwise "it disappears and we can't book late fees" etc. Not even only the "random third-party" companies vetted and specialised in ID verification, but then they get a new support contract down the road, and a fourth- or fifth-party agent who had the cheapest offer now has remote admin access to those desktops.
Probability is low, true. But all it takes is one compromised access.
We all choose our battles probably.
prism56
Is it though? Unfortunately this could have been implemented much better with a decentralised approach.
Its not the showing the ID its having it potentially tied to your accounts and usage. Having your ID tied to your selfie which could be leaked.
smallnix
Please post a link to a picture of your national ID. /s
1a527dd5
I love you guys, even before this.
We just shipped a new feature in NextDNS: Bypass Age Verification.
More and more sites (especially adult ones) are now forcing users to upload IDs or selfies to continue. We think that’s a terrible idea: handing over government documents to random sites is a huge privacy risk.
This new setting workarounds those verification flows via DNS tricks. It’s available today to all users, including free accounts.
We’re curious how the HN community feels about this. Is it the right way to protect privacy online, or will it just provoke regulators to push harder?
https://nextdns.io