Death Stranding’s photo mode now lets UK users bypass age verification checks under the Online Safety Act no face scan, no ID, no VPN required.
Death Stranding avatar tricks facial verification systems
UK platforms like Discord and Reddit now use biometric tools (k‑ID, Persona) to confirm age under the Online Safety Act, enforced as of July 25, 2025. These checks ask users to take a live selfie or scan ID. But by using Sam Porter Bridges from Death Stranding in photo mode, users repeatedly pass the system. They pose Sam to move his mouth or tilt his head, meeting all facial movement prompts without using their real face.
Gamers point their phone at the screen, trigger Sam’s expression, and verification completes within seconds even with Sam wearing a hat or otter cap.
Hideo Kojima has revealed new details about the highly anticipated sequel Death Stranding 2: On the Beach.
Why Death Stranding works where others fail
Biometric systems weren’t built to detect ultra-realistic virtual characters. They’re simply looking for human-like motion and facial features not necessarily a real person. Death Stranding’s fidelity lets it spoof these checks better than older games or simple masks. That’s why Discord and Reddit get tricked, while other platforms using Yoti, like Bluesky, remain harder to fool.
Some users had already been using VPNs to avoid the UK requirement, but those methods are riskier and likely to be blocked by upcoming enforcement.
Privacy fears grow as ID checks become mandatory
Under the new law, platforms must delete selfies or ID data after processing. But many users don’t trust that promise. For them, pointing a phone at Death Stranding feels safer than uploading personal info. The tradeoff? A spoofed scan that works until it doesn’t.
Privacy advocates argue this only proves what critics warned all along: face scans aren’t secure if verification doesn’t check for “realness,” only realism.
Death Stranding exploit puts honest users at a loss
This workaround doesn’t help everyone. Players over 18 who refuse biometric scans now lose access to age-locked servers or NSFW communities. Meanwhile, users faking Sam’s face get in clean. It’s a double hit cutting off legit access while letting impersonators slide past barriers.
Discord hasn’t responded to requests for comment, but the feature remains active as of now.
The law meets Kojima and the mask wins
In trying to lock out minors, lawmakers left the door wide for the uncanny. With Death Stranding, Sam Bridges became the most cooperative fake ID in the country. The system may tighten over time, but right now, the future of online safety is being shaped by a game designed to walk between life and death.
Once again, Hideo Kojima’s weird vision finds a way into real policy and walks straight past it.
