There’s a global shift toward stricter age assurance requirements amid broader concerns about online safety. In the UK, dating platforms and other online platforms, including Reddit, are rolling out age assurance requirements for users to comply with the Online Safety Act. In the US, a state-by- state approach has led to a patchwork of laws, but there’s still a general trend toward age verification requirements for online platforms.
In order to provide assurance of someone’s age, solutions need to collect some sort of user information. As a result, age assurance requirements can also introduce privacy and security risks.
Learn more about the various age assurance methods and how you can design a system that meets regulatory requirements without sacrificing growth or users’ trust.
How Dating Platforms Can Assess Ages Effectively
There are many possible ways to verify users’ ages, including:
- Age gates: Asking users their age might be a simple option in regions with limited or no age assurance or verification requirements. But without a real age verification check, it doesn’t offer any assurance that the user is over a certain age.Database verification: Users share basic information, such as their name, date of birth, and an identification number. You can attempt to verify the information against an authoritative source, like a credit bureau or a government agency’s database. Database verifications can be a good low-friction option in regions with a reliable data infrastructure.Government ID verification: Users upload a driver’s license, passport, or other government ID. This approach can offer high assurance if you can verify the ID’s authenticity, extract information (including age), and compare it to what the user submits.Selfie age estimation: AI models estimate age directly from a user’s selfie. The method can offer varying levels of assurance depending on the environment and tool, and it can be a good first step in a tiered verification flow.Financial data checks: In some regions, like the UK, you may be able to verify a user’s age by connecting to their credit card or deposit accounts.Email-based age estimation: Some age estimation tools can estimate a user’s age by analyzing their email account’s data, such as the account’s age, usage patterns, and information from third-party organizations. Phone number-based estimation may also be available, primarily in the UK. Both methods are low friction, but there can be limited coverage.
You can combine multiple methods to increase assurance. For example, pair a selfie verificationwith another method to confirm a ****ager isn’t attempting to create an account with a parent’sphone or ID.
6 Best Practices for Secure and Compliant Age Assurance
Dating platforms can follow several best practices to meet regulatory requirements and users’ expectations:
- Understand the regulatory requirements: Collaborate across legal, product, and trustand safety teams to map out jurisdiction-specific requirements for age thresholds,required assurance, security standards, and privacy obligations.Minimize data collection and secure user information: Determine the minimumamount of user data you need and follow data minimization principles. Secure sensitiveinformation using encryption and strict access controls. And delete data when you nolonger need it.Offer multiple online age assessment options: Let users choose from several ageassessment methods in case they’re uncomfortable sharing certain information or don’thave specific forms of ID.Set clear risk tolerance criteria: Determine and define when different types of ageestimation or verification are necessary. Start with the least intrusive method to reducefriction, and introduce more robust checks only when higher risk is detected or regulationrequires it.Protect your users’ experience: Reduce friction with dynamic verification flows andreusable age credentials to keep users and regulators happy.Plan for adaptability: Regulations and technology can change quickly. Ensure yourplatform can easily adjust processes to respond to new laws or emerging technologieswithout major overhauls.
Build Trust With Proactive Age Assurance
Understanding regulatory requirements, setting risk thresholds, and using dynamic verificationmethods helps dating platforms deliver safe, trustworthy user experiences. Learn more inPersona’s free guide: Solving age verification’s biggest challenges: Practical strategies for adigital world.
Kerwell Liao is a seasoned product marketing and user experience leader with over a decade of experience shaping identity, security, and user-centric solutions at some of the world’s most influential tech companies. Currently serving as a Product Marketing Manager at Persona, Kerwell drives go-to-market strategy for Persona’s highly configurable identity verification and fraud prevention products
