This research and data was paid for by Airteam. If you use it, please cite and link to our client and Primara Research. Thank you.
New Primara research suggests around 2.1 million Australians are prepared to walk away from all social media rather than verify their age, just as the new age verification laws take effect on 10 December 2025. This is not about cutting back screen time, it is about a meaningful minority opting out of mainstream digital life if the price of access is sharing more personal data.
The Takeaway
Australia is about to run a live experiment in how far people will go to protect their privacy.
For platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, X, YouTube and Reddit, this is a real churn risk, not a theoretical edge case. Age verification is landing at the same moment trust in big tech is fragile and data fatigue is high.
The data also undercuts one of the laziest assumptions in tech. The generation that grew up online is not automatically willing to trade everything for access. Gen Z emerges as the most likely to quit rather than verify.
Outside the cities, the stakes are different again. Regional Australians are more reliant on social platforms for connection and information, and less willing to walk away, which raises separate questions about equity and access.
And while this regime is framed around child safety and social media, the signal is broader. Any digital service that leans on biometrics or document checks should assume that a non trivial slice of its users will prefer to leave rather than hand over more data.
- 2.1 million Australians say they will quit every social media platform if age verification is mandatory.
- 10% of social media users will abandon all platforms that require verification rather than sign up.
- 36% of users are willing to leave at least some platforms that demand age verification.
- Around 7.9 million Australians could quit one or more major platforms once verification is switched on.
- 45% of Gen Z users say they are prepared to walk away rather than verify their age.
- Around 86% of Australian adults use social media today, so verification touches almost the entire population.
One in ten would quit everything
In a nationally representative survey of nearly 1,000 Australians:
10% of social media users said they will abandon every platform that requires age verification, no matter which company is asking.
With around 20 million Australian adults using social media, that 10% equates to roughly 2.1 million people stepping away from mainstream digital social life entirely.
This is not “I will scroll less”. It is “I am out”.
Up to 7.9 million could leave at least some platforms
A larger group is ready to walk selectively.
Across all users, 36% say they are willing to quit at least some platforms that demand age verification.
That 36% includes the hard 10% who will quit everything, plus those who will only drop certain platforms.
On current usage, that translates to a potential 7.9 million Australians who could leave one or more major platforms once verification is switched on.
For platforms, the risk sits at the intersection of regulation and retention. Non compliance can attract penalties of up to $50 million, so there is very little room to quietly look the other way.
Gen Z lead the resistance
The sharpest pushback comes from the cohort usually described as digital natives.
45% of Gen Z users say they are willing to quit platforms rather than verify their age.
This is the highest proportion of any age group in the study.
The generation most integrated with digital platforms is also the most likely to say “no” when the cost of access is a verified identity.
This challenges the idea that younger users will always trade privacy for convenience. For a significant share of younger Australians, privacy and control have moved into the top tier of concerns.
Regional users are more attached, and less likely to leave
The research also highlights a regional urban divide.
Regional Australians in the sample are both:
More likely to be active social media users, and
Less likely to say they will quit over age verification.
That suggests a deeper reliance on digital platforms for social connection, local news and community life when distance and limited local services are part of the daily reality.
For these users, losing access is not just about boredom. It is about practical information and social contact.
Privacy, biometrics and trust
Under the new rules, platforms must take “reasonable steps” to prevent under 16s accessing their services. To do that, age verification may involve:
Biometric analysis,
AI based age estimation, or
Submission of identity documents, such as passports or driver licences.
These are exactly the methods many Australians are uneasy about, especially when managed by global tech companies that already hold extensive behavioural data.
The survey suggests the resistance is not about the goal of child safety. Many respondents agree the goal is important. The friction is about how that goal is pursued, and who sits at the center of verification.
Australia is about to find out how many people are willing to trade convenience, content and connection to protect their privacy. The systems asking for that trust now need to prove they deserve it, in how they handle identity, biometrics and data every day.
