GrapheneOS user reported to authorities by age verification company Yoti for using this OS

A user reported that Yoti, a widely used age verification service, flagged and reported him to the authorities solely because his device was running GrapheneOS, an open-source Android operating system focused on privacy and security. In an email, Yoti stated that it automatically flags both multiple verification attempts and any device detected running GrapheneOS. These cases are then reported to authorities and Yoti’s internal security team, according to the message the user received.

For those unfamiliar, GrapheneOS is a privacy-centric mobile operating system built on the Android Open Source Project for Google Pixel (and soon Motorola) devices. It aims to enhance privacy and security by implementing defense in depth and reducing the attack surface compared to standard Android versions.

While this incident raises new questions about operating system-based discrimination, Yoti’s data collection policies have previously faced regulatory scrutiny. In March 2026, Spain’s data protection agency fined Yoti €950,000 for three violations of the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation. Following the initial report, the user shared evidence on Reddit via Imgur, a platform currently blocked in the UK after regulatory inquiries into age verification law compliance (how ironic).

⚠️ UPDATE: From GrapheneOS forum: “Recently, there has been a lot of discussion about a member of Yoti's support team reporting a GrapheneOS user to authorities. Today, we received an email from a top member of their organization telling us that they believe the screenshots of the exchange to be fabricated. They assure us that they couldn't find record of the email and “would never report any user to the police or any other third party based on their choice of operating system or device.” They also said they will be speaking to engineers on their end to see if there are any reasons for GrapheneOS users to experience issues with their age verification system. Although we have seen members of the community reporting issues with the app, we hope that these issues can be addressed soon.”