Pornhub asked tech platforms to enable device-level age verification
In a bold move to enhance online safety for minors, Aylo, the parent company of popular adult sites like Pornhub, RedTube, and YouPorn, has reached out to major tech companies, including Apple, Google, and Microsoft, advocating for device-level age verification methods. Anthony Penhale, Aylo’s chief legal officer, expressed concerns over the inadequacies of current site-based age verification approaches, which he claims have failed to effectively protect minors from accessing inappropriate content. In a series of letters, Penhale emphasized that these existing methods, which often require users to submit sensitive personal information like government-issued IDs or facial scans, are not only flawed but also counterproductive in achieving their intended goal.
The push for device-level age verification comes on the heels of a recent study indicating that U.S. age verification laws are not meeting their objectives and may even infringe on adults’ rights to free speech. The letters sent by Aylo advocate for a system where age verification occurs at the device level, allowing for a more streamlined and secure way to restrict access to adult content. This approach would involve a one-time age determination on the device, which could then communicate an age signal to websites via an API (Application Programming Interface). This method aims to create a more effective barrier against underage access while minimizing the need for personal data input on individual sites.
Both Apple and Google have responded to Aylo’s requests, albeit cautiously. Apple pointed to its existing measures to protect minors, including age-appropriate content filters for accounts of teenagers aged 13 to 17. Meanwhile, Google reaffirmed its commitment to child safety online, highlighting its development of new age assurance tools, although it maintains strict policies against adult entertainment apps on its platform. As the debate around online age verification continues, Aylo’s proposal for device-level filters could reshape the landscape of how adult content is accessed, potentially providing a more secure environment for both minors and adults navigating the digital space.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwQr_TJOWRs
Pornhub
‘s parent company, Aylo, has sent letters to major tech platforms urging them to
enable device-level age verification
, according to WIRED.
Anthony Penhale, chief legal officer for Aylo (which also owns RedTube and YouPorn), sent letters to Apple, Google, and Microsoft saying in all of them that “we have found site-based age assurance approaches to be fundamentally flawed and counterproductive.”
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Site-based age verification methods have “failed to achieve their primary objective: protecting minors from accessing age-inappropriate material online,” the letters reportedly state.
This comes soon after the latest study, which suggests thatÂ
U.S. age verification laws indeed fail
 in their objective, as well as impede adults’ right to free speech.
“Site-based age verification” has been enacted in half of theÂ
United States and other countries,
 including the UK, Italy, and France. These age verification laws typically require inputting personal data, such as a government-issued ID or a facial scan, on sites with explicit content beyond a “yes or no” checkbox to ensure a visitor is over 18. (Though non-explicit websites like
YouTube
have also started implementing age verification.)
For years, Pornhub and free speech experts have advocated for device-level age verification instead, meaning blocks and filters on individual phones, tablets, or computers.
Mike Stabile, director of public affairs at the Free Speech Coalition, previously told Mashable that he
recommended device-level filters
that block all websites registered as
RTA, or “Restricted to Adults.”
“It signals to filters, whether it’s your Apple filter or Net Nanny or something like that, that this site should be blocked,” he explained.
In press releases regardingÂ
age verification legislation
, Aylo has also advocated for device-level filters as the solution to keep minors off its and other adult websites. Now, they’re pleading with tech giants to do the same.
“We strongly advocate for device-based age assurance where users’ age is determined once on the device, and the age range can be used to create an age signal sent over an API [application programming interface] to websites,” each letter states. Aylo requested that Apple, Google, and Microsoft extend this device-based approach to web platforms.
Microsoft declined to comment to Mashable.
An Apple spokesperson linked to a
Newsroom update
from June 2025, which states that kids aged 13 to 17 will now have similar age-appropriate protections on Apple devices as those under 13 already do under Child Accounts, regardless of whether the teen’s account was set up as a Child Account or a standard Apple Account. The protections include web content filters.
The Apple spokesperson also linked to a
child online safety white paper
from February 2025, which states that, “The right place to address the dangers of age-restricted content online is the limited set of websites and apps that host that kind of content.”
Google told Mashable that it’s “committed to protecting kids online, including by developing and deploying new age assurance tools like our Credential Manager API that can be used by websites. We don’t allow adult entertainment apps on Google Play, and certain high-risk services like Aylo will always need to invest in specific tools to meet their own legal and responsibility obligations.”
