How old are you really? A parent’s guide to age verification for kids.

As kids do more and live more online – homework, games, texting, snapping, posting, commenting – how can you make sure they’re seeing age-appropriate content while protecting their privacy?

Popular social media sites have always had a minimum age requirement (typically 13), but kids have found workarounds. According to Internet Matters, 43% of kids aged nine to 12 are using WhatsApp, 31% are using TikTok and 22% are using Snapchat.

Age verification is the next step forward, but lawmakers and platforms haven’t worked out all the kinks yet. Still relatively new, there is a lot to learn. We want to get the conversation started with an overview of how age verification works, why it’s becoming more common and how you can add it to your family’s online security toolkit.

Age verification explained

Age verification includes methods, tools and technologies that require users of apps or platforms to prove their age. There are several ways to do this including:

• Parental consent
• Check box
• Photo ID matching
• Digital identity services
• Facial age estimation
• Third-party applications

In September 2024, Instagram introduced teen accounts, which now impact more than 100 million accounts worldwide. Bowing to pressure to provide better safety and security measures for younger users, all teen accounts (aged 13 – 17) are automatically placed under protective settings that limit who can contact teens, what they can see and how their parents can control messaging and content settings.

Instead of trusting users to verify their own ages, Instagram is now asking teen users to provide a piece of identification or upload a video for facial recognition analysis.

While these measures aim to enhance safety for younger users, they also raise important questions about data privacy and security.

Concerns about privacy

There is a global movement toward mandatory age verification laws (the EU, UK and several U.S. states have them in place; Canada has re-introduced the amended Bill S-209). But privacy remains a critical concern.

If kids are submitting government-issued ID or providing video for facial recognition analysis, how is that data being stored? According to META, “ID will be stored securely on our servers and is deleted within 30 days.”

Kids always find a way

While age verification is a step in the right direction to keep online spaces safe and age appropriate, kids are figuring out how to work around these new techniques.

Identity verification solutions provider Shufti details how minors are outsmarting weak age gates. According to its research, almost one in four would be sign ups at gated sites are still suspected minors.

So how are kids getting around the verification? In a few ways:

• Borrowed or purchased adult ID: they are taking their parents’ ID or buying scans on Telegram.
• VPN/proxy masking of location: making it appear as if they are located in a country with more flexible age verification laws to get around rules where they live.
• Deep fake or AI-aged selfie: using AI technology to age the photo they submit for age verification.
• Cookie/session piggy backing: using a device that already has an adult verification session token to avoid verifying their own age.

What can you do?

Age verification is one tool. But you still play a very important role in determining when and how kids engage online and with social media.

• Wait as long as you can: Jonathan Haidt, author of The Anxious Generation, recommends keeping kids off social media until they are at least 16. Even with protections, social media can expose younger kids to content and situations they don’t have the emotional maturity to deal with.
• Set limits and conditions: work as a team to determine what being online in a healthy and productive way means for your family. Have ongoing conversations about what your kids are doing online and the experiences they are having. Help them build digital self-awareness, so they learn how to trust their instincts and know what does and doesn’t feel good based on who they are and what they value.
• Get their input: ask kids their opinions on what they feel is age-appropriate online and how much freedom they think they should have. Find out what their friends are doing. By using their lived experiences, you’re empowering them to make better decisions, be accountable and follow the rules you determine together.

With this generation of kids growing up online, protecting them and insisting on age-appropriate experiences is needed and necessary. Age verification offers a practical approach that is evolving. By building your knowledge about age verification, familiarizing yourself with the solutions and knowing what kids are doing to get around it, you can help your kids live healthy, safe and age-appropriate digital lives – on their terms and yours. For more tips on helping our kids navigate our digital world check out this guide.