Minecraft PC players use mods to bypass Xbox age checks

Minecraft players on PC in the UK have started using game mods to regain chat access after Xbox blocked unverified accounts from multiplayer chat in recent days.

Players report seeing a “chat is not allowed by account settings” message when trying to message others. Xbox began asking users to verify they are over 18 in July after the Online Safety Act took effect, and warned unverified accounts would lose the ability to interact with users who are not on their friends list.

Threads on community forums include step‑by‑step posts describing mod-based methods that can restore chat for PC users. Links to those mods are circulating mainly within gaming communities. Moderators and platform policies have removed some posts and links, and developers of the mods have not been named in official notices.

Privacy and security concerns are a common reason players cite for avoiding age checks. In October, an age‑verification firm that worked with a chat platform was hacked and nearly 70,000 user ID photos were exposed; the images were not intended to be stored. One forum comment read: “We love when governments use protecting kids as an excuse to spy on its citizens.” When the Online Safety Act took effect, demand for VPNs and other privacy tools rose.

Xbox framed the enforcement as part of its obligations under the Online Safety Act and provided warnings during the past year. The current chat restrictions apply to multiplayer features where unverified accounts cannot contact non‑friends. Xbox has not published detailed public guidance on which types of verification it accepts or how stored verification data will be handled.

The UK government plans tighter restrictions for under‑16s starting next year. Platform operators and rights holders have legal options to request removal of software that circumvents platform controls, but no timetable for further enforcement or removals has been published.

Earlier this month, Mojang Studios announced Chaos Cubed, Minecraft’s second major update of the year, adding the Sulfur Cave biome, the Sulfur Cube passive mob, and more than 30 new building blocks.