2.1 million Australians would rather quit social media than verify their age

The Australian government's social media verification requirement, to be introduced later this month, has sparked fierce debate.

Many agree that social media has harmed children and teenagers, and that any serious strategy to reduce that harm is overdue.

Others share the same concern for kids, but argue that age verification is heavy-handed, ripe for data breaches and that kids will get around it one way or another.

Some worry that removing children from online communities that provide them with support and connection could be worse than the harms we are trying to prevent.

And others take a libertarian view: government should stay out of people’s lives and screens wherever possible.

Indeed, it is not clear how the technology will work. Nor is it clear how infallible it will be.

And certainly, social feeds are full of people saying there is no world in which they hand over their passports or other ID documents to tech companies.

Amid the confusion and frustration, we wanted to understand what Australians will actually do when the age verification requirement comes into effect. What people say on social media is one thing. What they say in a quiet, structured survey is often another.

So we asked 915 Australian adults the question.

And the answer is pretty startling.

One in ten social media users will quit everything rather than verify

Our new research reveals that 2.1 million Australians are prepared to quit every social media platform rather than verify their age, days before the nation’s age verification laws take effect on 10 December 2025.

In a nationally representative survey of nearly 1,000 Australians, 10% of social media users said they will abandon every platform that requires age verification, no matter which site asks.

Given that 86% of Australian adults currently use social media, or roughly 20 million people, that 10% represents a complete withdrawal from mainstream digital social life for around 2.1 million Australians.

This is not “I will use social media less”. It is “I will walk away entirely if verification is mandatory”.

Plan if asked to verify age on social media

Australian Social Media Users' Plans if Asked to Verify their Age on Social Media Sites

Up to 7.9 million plan to leave at least some platforms

A larger group is more selective, but still prepared to walk.

Across all users, 36% say they are willing to quit at least some platforms that demand age verification. That figure includes the 10% who will quit everything, plus those who will drop only certain platforms.

On current usage numbers, that 36% translates to a potential 7.9 million Australians who could leave one or more major platforms once verification is switched on.

For the platforms facing the new regime. Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, X, YouTube, Reddit and others, this is not a theoretical edge case. It is a primary business risk.

The law requires them to take “reasonable steps” to prevent under-16s accessing their services. Non-compliance can attract penalties of up to $50 million. So the pressure is intense on both sides. Regulators demanding enforcement, users demanding privacy and control.

Gen Z are the most likely to walk away

One of the most surprising findings is the group leading the resistance.

Gen Z users - the cohort usually described as “digital natives” - are the most likely to abandon social media rather than verify their age.

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  45% of Gen Z say they are willing to quit instead of verifying
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  This is the highest proportion of any age group

In other words, the generation most deeply intertwined with digital platforms is also the most likely to say “no thanks” when the price of access is a verified identity.

This sits uncomfortably with the widely held assumption that younger users will trade almost anything for access and convenience. The data suggests a shift: privacy is now a first-order concern for a significant share of younger Australians, not an afterthought.

Regional Australians are more reliant and less likely to leave

The research also points to a regional urban divide.

Regional Australians are both:

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  More likely to use social media, and
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  Less likely to quit over verification

That suggests a greater reliance on digital platforms for connection, local news and community when physical distance is part of everyday life.

For regional users, social media often fills gaps that city dwellers can plug with in-person networks and services. Asking those users to walk away from platforms can have a very different impact on social connection and information access than in metropolitan areas.

Privacy, biometrics and the trust gap

Under the new rules, age verification may involve:

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  Biometric analysis,
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  AI-based age estimation,
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  Or submission of identity documents such as passports and driver’s licences.

These methods are precisely what many Australians say they are uncomfortable with, especially when operated by global tech companies that already hold deep data on their behaviour.

The survey results suggest that the resistance is not about safety goals. Many respondents agree that reducing harm to children online is important. The friction is about how that goal is achieved, and who is trusted to sit at the centre of verification.

Rich Atkinson, Executive Director of Airteam, sums up the broader lesson for any digital business:

“If social media platforms can lose 2.1 million users over age verification, any business collecting sensitive data needs to ask whether their users trust them enough to stay. The cost of getting privacy wrong is not just regulatory. It is existential when your customers would rather walk away than verify who they are.”

Beyond social media: a wider warning for digital services

Although this debate is currently focused on child safety and social platforms, the implications run much wider.

Any service that:

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  Collects sensitive personal data,
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  Uses biometrics or ID documents, or
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  Relies on “verify to continue” flows

is now on notice that a meaningful share of Australians may choose to leave rather than comply.

That does not mean verification is doomed. It does mean that:

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  Privacy practices need to be far more transparent.
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  Data collection needs to be minimised and well justified.
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  Alternatives that preserve anonymity where possible should be seriously explored.

For companies, trust is not a soft concept here. It is a retention strategy. If users feel that the cost of using a service is their long-term privacy and security, many will opt out. The research shows that clearly.

A delicate balance ahead

The age verification regime landing next week is trying to solve a real problem. Protecting children online matters.

At the same time, Australia is about to run a live experiment in the limits of public trust.

Platforms will be forced to balance three competing pressures:

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  Comply with regulation to protect children.
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  Protect user privacy in a way that feels credible, not just legalistic.
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  Hold on to users who are prepared to leave rather than hand over more data.

For governments, regulators, platforms and digital service providers, the signal in the data is simple.

A significant number of Australians are willing to trade convenience, content and connection to protect their privacy. The question now is whether the systems they are being asked to trust can evolve fast enough to convince them to stay.

About the data

The data used in our analysis came from a survey commissioned by Airteam, with a nationally representative sample of 915 adult Australians, that were asked if they would quit social media if they were required to verify their age.

Update

Really excited to see that 7News picked up our research as part of a series on the social media ban.

It’s a great write-up and we’re really happy our research is part of the conversation.

You can read the article here.