SketchFab – one of the largest platforms with 3D models, announced that from January 3, 2023, its resources will be made available only to users who are over 18 years old. At the same time, existing accounts of people who have not turned 18 by this date will be closed and they will lose access to the resources they published.
Sketchfab’s user profile does not currently have an age or date of birth section, so Sketchfab has no way of identifying which users are underage other than by personal declaration. Sketchfab hasn’t explained why it’s changing this policy, but it’s quite likely to be related to access to adult content that may be uploaded by users.
Sketchfab is a platform that is a huge online portfolio of 3D designers. It has many social functions, allows you to comment on published projects and add them to your favorites. Creators can easily post their work and get inspiration from others. Sketchfab is a 3D creation tool available on all major browsers and operating systems. Users can easily upload their designs, buy 3D models from other creators and create a unique community. Currently, there are over 4 million 3D files on the platform.
Full annoucement from SketchFab:
Our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy will be changing on January 3, 2023. This is a quick post to let you know what will be changing.
What’s changing?
The minimum age to use Sketchfab will be 18 as of January 3, 2023.What will I need to do?
When you visit Sketchfab for the first time after the changes have gone into effect, you will be prompted to log in to your Sketchfab account and review and accept the changes to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. We recommend that you log in to your account within 30 days to avoid the risk of account deletion due to inactivity.This change will affect me—what happens to my account?
If you are under 18 years of age, your account will be closed. If you have any models in your account, you will no longer be able to access them there.If you are under 18 and your account is Pro level or above, you can download your models from your account before this change goes into effect.
If you are under 18 and on a free Basic plan, you can make your models temporarily downloadable in order to download your model files before this change goes into effect.
In July 2021, Sketchfab was acquired by Epic Games – one of the largest and most important game developers in the world and the creator of many famous video games, including Fortnite, Gears of War, Shadow Complex or Infinity Blade. There is a high probability that the legal department of Epic Games is behind the closure of the platform’s resources for underage users …?
The decision to close resources for minors will cause many Sketchfab users – both minors and adults, to move irrevocably to alternative platforms. The question is whether other repositories like Thingiverse, Cults or Printables will follow the same direction?
Source: www.sketchfab.com