Which Linux distributions do age verification?
Myths and confusion abound in the age attestation issue. Here are clear answers with direct quotes from developers and experts.
Are you trying to find a Linux distro that doesn't try to verify your age? Below is a list of noteworthy Linux distributions and BSDs that have either implemented age attestation protocols, are considering it, or have opted not to comply.
Read this first
The phrase "age verification" often gets misused. Techlore interviewed an expert who shared some important clarifications, which I found helpful.
Actual age verification involves showing government ID or undergoing biometric checks to verify your age. This is what the proposed federal bill H.R. 8250 would require for all operating systems, if passed.
- Currently, no Linux distros have any built-in capacity to verify your age.
However, there is groundwork for self-declaration or self-attestation or self-reporting. This is where you declare to the OS your birth date or your age range. California's Digital Age Assurance Act (AB 1043) and similar state-level laws mandates self-declaration on operating systems.
Software running on your Linux distro may use your self-declared age or an age-estimating algorithm to guess your age in order to perform age gating, the act of blocking or limiting access to something based on age.
The systemd situation
When researching age verification on Linux, you may hear systemd mentioned a lot. The systemd software suite is used by most popular Linux distributions to manage processes in the background.
In March 2026, developers of systemd implemented the ability to store the user's birth date in the system database. While systemd could theoretically transmit your self-reported age to software requesting it, systemd cannot perform any age verification.
Be smart: Distros relying on systemd can choose not to use the birth date feature. Even if they decided to use it, you as the PC owner can disable it.
Things are changing fast
New laws are being proposed frequently, and existing ones are sometimes being blocked by courts. In one instance, a proposed bill in Colorado is being amended to make exceptions for open source operating systems, with the help of System76 founder and CEO Carl Richell.
The situation is decidedly fluid. I will try to keep the following list up-to-date, but I'm just one person trying to keep up with all of this myself.
- Distros with no plans for age attestation
- Artix Linux
- CachyOS
- Devuan Linux
- Parrot OS
- Solus
- Void Linux
- Zorin OS
- Distros remaining undecided
- AlmaLinux
- EndeavourOS
- Debian
- MX Linux
- GhostBSD
- Ubuntu
- Distros planning age attestation
- Fedora Linux
- Pop!_OS
- Distros with age attestation
- MidnightBSD
- Which Linux distribution should I use?
Distros with no plans for age attestation
With all of that in mind, let's look at Linux distros whose developers have stated there are no plans for age attestation or verification.
Artix Linux
Developer of systemd-free Artix Linux Christos Nouskas put it simply in a forum post:
We'll NEVER require any verification or identification from the user.
CachyOS
A forum moderator for CachyOS stated that there is no plan for age verification in the Arch-based distribution.
CachyOS is based in Germany with founders in both Germany & Russia
Laws for Age Verification do not exist there
So the conclusion:
CachyOS is doing nothing about age verification
Devuan Linux
Devuan Linux founder Denis "Jaromil" Roio stated in a short tweet that "we will remove age verfication [sic] now."
Garuda Linux
The Garuda Linux team has stated that they do not believe California's law applies to them, and they're leaving it up to California to block access to its servers if it sees that as necessary.
Last time I checked, California law does not (yet) apply where I live, therefore, Garuda Linux will continue to comply with local regulations in Finland and Germany (where the servers are hosted, and the donation funds are held).
Parrot OS
Parrot OS made an extended blog post on April 2, 2026, analyzing the laws. The post concluded by stating plainly that the team has no plans for compliance.
We will do absolutely nothing to accommodate these restrictions until we are legally forced to do so. Our mission is to provide tools for defense and analysis, not to act as a checkpoint for state-mandated identification.
Solus
Clint Eschberger, contributor to Solus, put it plainly in an April 2026 blog post that Solus is not planning age verification at this time.
We have no plans to implement age verification and will continue to monitor the situation.
Void Linux
In a Reddit discussion thread, a Void Linux contributor put it simply:
we have no plans at this time
Zorin OS
Zorin OS similarly is not planning to implement any kind of age attestation tooling. However, the developers aren't completely certain yet they won't eventually be required to comply.
As we're based in Ireland (both our company and ourselves personally) and don't have any physical presence or nexus in California, there's a possibility that this law may not be realistically enforceable on Zorin OS. However, I'm not a lawyer, so I can't give a concrete appraisal of how this law would work or its real level of enforceability.
Distros remaining undecided
These distros have said that they are waiting for further developments to see what. Until then, they are effectively have no plans while leaving the door open for future compliance.
AlmaLinux
In April 2026, chairperson on AlmaLinux's board of director made a blog post expressing uncertainty about the laws and skepticism that they will ultimately apply to AlmaLinux.
Our current plan is straightforward: we are going to wait and see how this plays out. ... In the meantime, we don’t believe this law requires immediate action on our part. The law’s requirements seem to be primarily aimed at commercial platforms with centralized app distribution and account management — not community-driven Linux distributions.
Debian
The Debian Linux team is still looking into whether it's obligated to include age attestation software in its operating system.
From a non-lawyer perspective, it is not yet clear how such regulations
apply to a non-commercial, volunteer-driven project like Debian, which
does not sell software and provides it in a highly decentralized way. ... this is an area where proper legal analysis is still required."
EndeavourOS
EndeavourOS in mid March 2026 made a statement in a blog post indicating that the project was waiting to see how other projects react before choosing a plan.
We just have to wait to see how this will develop for FOSS and Linux in general. It isn’t easy for us to make a clear statement on it at this moment, because this decision involves not only the distros but also DE/WM environments, software packages and mirror networks.
MX Linux
MX Linux is waiting to see how things play out before taking any specific action on age reporting and attestation code.
While we wait on court challenges and to see if and how these laws apply to non-commercial open source operating systems and applications, let me assure users that no one on the team at MX wants to implement something like age verification.
GhostBSD
Eric Turgeon, lead developer of GhostBSD, stated that the project would wait to see how FreeBSD responds to the issue. It is also actively ignoring Brazil's law, with the assumption the country it will simply block access to GhostBSD's website if it is violation.
I am not sure what to do, but again, it would only apply where legislation specifically asks for it. I need to make sure the project is protected from legal exposure.
Ubuntu
Canonical VP of engineering issued a statement in March 2026 indicating the development team was discussing it but had not made any solid decisions about age attestation.
Canonical is aware of the legislation and is reviewing it internally with legal counsel, but there are currently no concrete plans on how, or even whether, Ubuntu will change in response.
Distros planning age attestation
These Linux distributions have discussed age verification laws and discussed possible responses while making no indication those responses might include circumvention or protest moves.
Fedora Linux
Fedora Project Leader Jef Spaleta expressed openness to complying with age attestation laws, listing possible methods of doing so but not landing on anything specific.
... this might be a simple as extending how we currently map uid to usernames and group membership and having a new file in /etc/ that keeps up with age.
Pop!_OS
Pop!_OS has indicated it intends to follow any and all regulations it must. However, Carl Richell, the founder and CEO of the company that maintains Pop!_OS, is actively working on carving out exceptions for open source operating systems in state laws.
We are accustomed to adding operating system features to comply with laws. (...) We are a part of this world and we believe in the rule of law. We still hope these laws will be recognized for the folly they are and removed from the books or found unconstitutional.
Distros with age attestation
These distributions have implemented age attestation of some kind.
MidnightBSD
As of version 4.0.4, MidnightBSD has implemented an age attestation daemon that asks for each user's age at account creation. However, it can be disabled by running the sysrc aged_enable=NO command.
Which Linux distribution should I use?
If you're trying to find a safe Linux distribution to use to avoid age verification checks, I do not have advice for you. Like I said, things are rapidly changing, and it's unclear how things will stand even a month from now.
Instead, my advice is to contact your representatives and let them know that these laws are regressive and don't keep anyone safe.
You should be aware that the people pushing these laws are lobbyists for Meta, who wants to make it operating systems' obligation to protect children instead of Meta's. Not only is there little proof that age verification laws have positive effects, but the current push in US governments is a disingenuous dodging of responsibility on the part of big tech corporations.
