Without a doubt, this is the era of the internet and digital services. Now, there is no need to ask for directions from a stranger, but all the maps are available on the internet. One can visit the whole world, search flight timings, restaurants and hotels through mobile phone. Likewise, the digital or virtual space is covered by minors more than any other age group.  There are very rare chances that a senior citizen will install and play a game on his mobile phone. But the kids are primary users of every new software service or application. 

In this article, we will discover how age verification has changed so far.

In the United Kingdom, 89% of kids own cell phones in 2019, a survey by Statista. Digital gadgets are not limited to games or fun, they also use them for educational and professional purposes. Freelancing and video tutorials are examples of some non-recreational use of the internet.  Freelancers can make thousands of dollars by working remotely. These use cases have also pushed parents to allow their kids to use the internet, while they were not supporting this a few years back. With or without the approval of parents, 94% of internet users are between age 3 and 18.  

A Brief Introduction to Age Verification

Running an online website is a lot more different from carrying out a brick and mortar store. Age verification is very simple in a physical store, the shopkeeper can easily determine the age of customers by looking at them. The physique gives an idea about the age of the customer, and the shopkeeper can differentiate between a kid and an adult. 

In online platforms, age verification involves all the methods and techniques that can help in analyzing the age of the users. As the business doesn’t meet with the customer in the online medium, all the operations are performed remotely. It becomes very significant to check the age of users trustfully. 

At the moment where scams and frauds have disrupted the online platforms, the verification of data provided by the users is very crucial. Websites have to make sure that their users are above the specified age limit. 

For online age authentication, identity documents are considered as one of the best proof. During user registration, they have to provide images of authentic and government-approved ID documents. The age check is performed by artificially intelligent software that incorporates character recognition technology (OCR) to extract details from the document. Not only documents, the users also have to provide the facial selfie, which is captured by the software in real time. The selfie and photo ID undergo facial biometric recognition.  The online businesses are using cutting edge techniques that not only check the age of customers but also conform their bio-data. This is accomplished by the document verification where the legitimacy of the ID is confirmed. 

Why are age Checks are getting essential?

As discussed earlier, there is a greater proportion of kids in digital spaces than any other age group. The primary responsibility is on the parents, they have to prevent their kids from negative outcomes of the online services. But as online penetration has taken over the world, just parents’ supervision is not enough. Age verification needs 24/7 surveillance, which is not possible for parents to do. 

So, now the merchants of age-restricted products and adult content providers have to restrict the access by minors by using ID verification method. They have to integrate an online age verification method during the onboarding process which will check the age of every new user. Then the businesses should filter the user by their age and provide them services accordingly.

Wrapping it Up

Age verification regulations are getting strict by the time and the governments have invested much in them. Now or in the coming months, businesses have to adopt age verification solutions. It will help comply with the regulations and help them to build a better reputation among usual customers.