Character.ai Forces Facial Scans and ID Uploads for Basic Non-Explicit AI Chatting

I would like to report an issue I have been experiencing on the Character.ai application for approximately two months. Over-18 age verification has now been made mandatory simply to chat with the AI. While there used to be a restriction applied only to 18+ content, a face scan and a photo of an ID card are now required just to have standard conversations.

Users are only permitted to view characters, but completing this verification is strictly mandatory to chat with them. Furthermore, the system they use for age estimation can misidentify a 20-year-old person as 14, leading to both erroneous results and unfair restrictions.

In an application demanding such highly sensitive information as ID card photos and facial scans, I have grave concerns regarding where and how these data are stored and whether their security is genuinely guaranteed. There is no guarantee that an ID card photo will not fall into the hands of malicious actors or be leaked to third-party environments.

I demand that the app return to a setup similar to its legacy system by applying a separate filter/restriction solely to 18+ content, while lifting the requirement for such invasive ID and face verification for standard conversations. Alternatively, I request that a safer, privacy-respecting verification method be provided that does not require ID uploads or facial scanning.