Age assurance
White papers
Sep 09, 2024
Facial Age Estimation white paper
Making it faster and safer to prove your age Our age estimation technology accurately estimates a person’s age by looking at their face. We built it to give everyone a secure and private way of proving how old they are in different everyday scenarios: from age checking on social platforms and online stores, to supermarket self-checkouts, bars and clubs. This privacy-friendly approach to age verification doesn’t require any personal details or documents, and all information is instantly deleted once someone receives their estimated age – nothing is ever viewed by a human. Key takeaways
Articles
Jun 20, 2024
Why do Yoti facial age estimation results published by NIST differ to those reported by Yoti in its white papers
In September 2023, we submitted our facial age estimation model to the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), as part of a public testing process. This is the first time since 2014 that NIST has evaluated facial age estimation algorithms. NIST age estimation reports are likely to become a globally trusted performance guide for vendor models. NIST assessed vendor Facial Age Estimation models using 4 data test sets at certain image sizes: NIST provides some example images: NIST note in their report that age estimation accuracy “will depend on
Articles
May 28, 2024
The importance of transparency for facial age estimation
To protect young people online, businesses need to provide age-appropriate experiences for their users. This could apply to online marketplaces, social media networks, content sharing platforms and gaming sites. But to put the correct measures in place, businesses need to know the ages of their customers. It was previously thought that the only way to confidently establish a user’s age was with an identity document, like a passport or driving licence, or checks to third-party databases such as credit reference agencies or mobile network operators. However, regulators are now recognising facial age estimation as an effective alternative. As with
Articles
May 14, 2024
Making age checks inclusive
In today’s world, we can access a range of goods, services and experiences online. As a result, regulations are being passed across the globe to ensure that young people safely navigate the digital world. From the UK’s Online Safety Act to age verification laws in the US, platforms are being required to check the ages of their users. To do this effectively, the age assurance methods offered must be inclusive and accessible to as many people as possible. Why can’t businesses just use ID documents? Most people tend to think of age assurance as checking a person’s age
Articles
Apr 09, 2024
US age verification laws for online platforms
From buying goods online to accessing crucial services, there are countless advantages to an increasingly digital world. But with this development comes the serious challenge of ensuring that users can safely navigate online environments. As young people are able to access the internet more easily than ever, it’s important to make sure that their online journeys are age-appropriate. According to a national survey, the average age at which children in the US first see pornography is 12, with 15% first seeing online pornography at age 10 or younger. In response to the evolving digital landscape, regulation is making strides to
Articles
Feb 15, 2024
The Age Appropriate Design Code for businesses
This blog was updated in February 2024, following the ICO’s updated opinion on age assurance for the Children’s Code. In a nutshell the main changes include: Facial age estimation is now recognised as the most widely used age estimation approach, with high levels of accuracy. Self-declaration on its own is not sufficient for high-risk services. The ICO has also introduced a new term, the ‘waterfall technique’. This refers to a combination of age assurance methods. Companies should ensure that any age assurance system implemented has an appropriate level of technical accuracy, reliability and robustness, whilst operating in a fair way