Mobile operator check
Also called: mobile network check, phone contract check, MNO check.
What it collects
Your mobile number. The network operator confirms whether the adult-content bar on that account has been lifted, which the operator only does after its own age check. Some services describe it as a mobile contract check (PlayStation, Xbox).
OneID reported 3.4 million operator-based checks in the first days after 25 July 2025 (its own figure).
What Ofcom says
Listed in Ofcom's January 2025 guidance (as mobile-network operator age checks) as capable of being highly effective. Ofcom
Listed as capable of being highly effective Offered by about 13% of the services in Ofcom's July 2026 sample (read from the report's chart; approximate).
Services with a recorded route
| Service | Provider | Retention, as published |
|---|---|---|
| Feeld | Yoti (mobile network operator check) |
“Records used to verify your age are immediately deleted by our partner when the verification process is finished.” Quoted from support.feeld.co, dated 2 December 2025; checked 18 October 2026. Held by the vendor. Period as stated: Immediately after verification (Feeld help article). Feeld’s article: “With this option, our verification partner will request some information from your mobile provider to confirm your age. If you don’t have a phone number on your Feeld account, we’ll ask you to provide this.” and “This must be done with a phone on a mobile network. VoIP numbers (e.g., Google Voice) can’t be used for age verification.” Feeld’s Terms of Use (18 December 2025) name the provider: “utilization of third-party age verification and Mobile Network Operator checks provided by Yoti”. Feeld’s FAQ: “We do not store any personal data submitted during the verification process, except where the data already exists on your account (e.g. previously submitted for login or 2FA).” |
| PlayStation | Yoti |
No published retention period found (checked 18 October 2026). Mobile contract check. PlayStation’s FAQ: “Pay As You Go or prepay numbers are not supported for this method.” The FAQ’s only data sentence for this route is “Information you provide for age verification is processed by Yoti, our third-party provider.”, which is not a retention period. |
| Pornhub, YouPorn, RedTube | Aylo |
No published retention period found (checked 18 October 2026). |
| Xbox | Yoti (attribution from the September 2026 record, not confirmed by Microsoft) |
No published retention period found (checked 18 October 2026). Not listed on Microsoft’s current age-assurance FAQ (24 August 2026); the July 2025 announcement is the only source for this method. Listed in the July 2025 Xbox Wire announcement (“mobile provider check, and credit card check”). Microsoft’s age-assurance FAQ dated 24 August 2026 (read 18 October 2026) lists only facial age estimation, document upload and a government-system login for Singapore; it does not list this method. The Xbox Wire page names no vendor. |