The short version
- Browsing and watching work without an account; video quality is commonly reported to be capped until you sign in.
- Registration accepts international phone numbers — but SMS codes are unreliable for some countries.
- Identity-verification requests (a photo ID upload) appear for some overseas users in account and creator flows.
- When SMS fails, Bilibili's customer-service center has a dedicated path, and community reports describe a QR-code alternative.
Registration: what works and what doesn't
Bilibili's sign-up accepts international numbers — the form is not limited to +86. The widely reported problem is delivery: users in the US, Spain, Malaysia and Singapore have all described requesting the SMS code and nothing arriving. Two things are worth knowing before you fight it:
- The customer-service route. Bilibili's customer-service center includes an option specifically for people who cannot receive verification codes — community reports point there when SMS stalls.
- The QR-code path. A registration option beside the phone-number field lets you sign up by scanning a QR code with the mobile app — reported by community members as an alternative when SMS fails.
What we have not verified: which specific carriers or country codes deliver reliably, and whether either alternative is offered in every region and app version. Treat both as options to try, not guarantees.
Identity verification: what that request is
Some overseas users report being asked to verify identity — uploading a government-issued ID (both sides) or a selfie holding it — when using certain account or creator features. Reached through the official app or bilibili.com, this request is part of Bilibili's own verification flow. The honest framing: we can tell you the request is real and appears in official flows; we cannot tell you how documents are stored or processed, and we won't guess. Bilibili's privacy policy and your own comfort level decide that — and if a similar request arrives by email or an unofficial site, that's not Bilibili, that's phishing.
What you can do without an account
Quite a lot: browse the creator directory, open official channels, play videos, read danmaku. What an account adds is participation (danmaku, comments, coins, favorites) and, per widely reported experience, higher video quality — logged-out playback is commonly capped below full resolution. If you only want to watch a few channels, you can defer the account entirely.
Region restrictions, briefly
The message "according to the request of the copyright owner, this video is not available in your area" is about licensing: specific shows are cleared for specific regions. It's most common on licensed series and films, and the split between the main site and the international bilibili.tv service exists for the same reason. BiliGuide does not provide instructions for circumventing regional restrictions — that's a firm boundary — but knowing the message means "licensing", not "your account is broken", saves a lot of confusion. See our app and payment guide for how the two services differ.
Sources & what we did not verify
Community reports below are evidence of the problems, not of any particular fix. We did not test registration flows per country, and we did not verify Bilibili's internal document-handling practices.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a Chinese phone number to register a Bilibili account?
No — Bilibili accepts international phone numbers at registration. The practical problem reported by many overseas users is different: SMS verification codes sometimes fail to arrive for numbers in the US, Spain, Malaysia, Singapore and elsewhere. Bilibili's customer-service center includes a dedicated option for users who cannot receive verification codes, and multiple community reports describe the QR-code registration path in the app as an alternative to SMS.
Why is Bilibili asking me to upload an ID?
Some overseas users report being asked to complete identity verification — uploading a government-issued ID with photos of both sides, or a selfie holding it — typically when using account or creator features. This is Bilibili's own verification flow inside the app, not a phishing page, when reached through the official app or site. Whether to proceed is your decision: what BiliGuide can tell you is what the request is and that it appears in official flows; what we can't tell you is how your documents are stored or processed — Bilibili's own privacy policy is the source for that.
Can I watch Bilibili without an account?
Yes — browsing, searching and playing videos works without an account. Multiple sources report that video quality is capped for logged-out viewers, with higher resolutions tied to being signed in. An account also unlocks danmaku posting, coins, favorites and subscriptions.
Why do some videos say they are not available in my area?
That message reflects licensing, not discrimination: specific shows — mostly licensed series and films — are only cleared for certain regions. It is most visible on the international bilibili.tv service and affects some licensed content on the main site too. BiliGuide does not provide instructions for circumventing regional restrictions; we explain what the message means and point to what is officially available in your region.
Next: which Bilibili app to use, and paying from abroad · turning on subtitles · current platform status notes · the international-expansion changelog.