Regional chat restrictions #1067
Description
What's going on?
From February 2026, Xbox will require age verification from users located in United Kingdom before they can use public chat. This will affect Minecraft: Java Edition, Bedrock Edition and every other Xbox-based game.
Per their post, this is also expected in other regions in the future:
We expect to roll out age verification processes to more regions in the future. There is no one-size-fits-all solution to player safety, so these methods may look different across regions and experiences.
Official FAQ: https://support.xbox.com/en-GB/help/family-online-safety/online-safety/UK-age-verification
News article: https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2025/07/28/xbox-age-verification-uk/
How will it work on Java Edition?
Users using Minecraft 1.16.3 and up will not be able to receive or send any chat messages in the game. This affects only multiplayer (not LAN, Realms, singleplayer), including commands and system messages.
On 26.1+, commands and system messages should be accessible again.
I'm affected, what should I do?
Read the official FAQ and decide how you want to proceed.
What is the modpack's stance?
As this seems to be a legal and TOS matter (I am not a lawyer), the modpack will add no preventive measures for it. Any suggestions to mods or workarounds that affect the feature will be considered "exploits" - will not be encouraged or included.
What about No Chat Reports?
As far as I'm aware (I'm not a lawyer), No Chat Reports is neither illegal or against the TOS, and it fully follows both server's and Mojang's intent - when reports (chat signing) are forced, they will be forced; when reports are optional, client will opt out. So the mod exists for awareness and intent-adhereness rather than prevention, this is also explained by the custom description in Mod Menu.
Modpack's FAQ about player reporting can be found here: https://wiki.download.fo/chat-reporting-faq