Age Assurance

Age assurance refers to the range of approaches available to determine a user’s age, allowing digital platforms to comply with age-restricted regulations, prevent underage access to restricted content, and minimize regulatory liabilities. Age verification is the most robust form of age assurance, involving methods like government ID checks and biometrics. Advanced AI technologies enhance the accuracy and efficiency of these checks and can also be leveraged in lighter approaches, such as age estimation or database validation, across the full spectrum of age assurance methods. This broader approach empowers businesses to dynamically tailor age checks based on risk levels, user geography, and regulatory requirements, keeping legitimate users onboard while confidently blocking underage access. 

Age assurance is critical in industries where access to products, services, or content is legally restricted by age. These include:

• Gaming: Ensuring players meet minimum age thresholds to comply with state-by-state regulations.
• E-commerce and deliveries: Confirming legal age for purchases such as alcohol, nicotine, and lottery products.
• Social platforms: Preventing minors from accessing adult content, dating apps, or social media platforms governed by laws such as the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).
• “Vice tech” and age-gated services: Safeguarding brand trust and meeting strict oversight for highly regulated sectors.

Socure addresses various regulatory demands with flexible, customizable age assurance workflows designed to meet a wide range of use cases, from passive data-based checks to more robust document and biometric verification. 

Yes. Socure provides a wide range of age assurance options –  depending on industry-specific regulations, jurisdiction, and business needs – including several options that do not require a full ID document check: 

• Passive Data Age Checks: Using PII (such as phone number, email, or date of birth), Socure maps user information against its identity network graph, providing instant verification with over 95% coverage for thin-file customers and younger Gen Z demographics.
• Selfie-Based Age Estimation: Socure’s AI can estimate a user’s age from a biometric selfie, enhanced by liveness detection and anti-spoofing technology.
• Barcode-only Age Check: an alternative to a full ID document check could be a simple barcode scan on the back of the ID,  a fast and secure age check for in-person deliveries of age-restricted items.

This flexibility enables platforms to opt for lighter-touch solutions where possible, escalating to in-depth checks and document scans as needed.

Socure seamlessly integrates age assurance via APIs and SDKs adaptable for onboarding, checkout, or access gates. Key considerations for implementation include: 

• Balancing Compliance & User Experience: Socure’s orchestration tools let businesses adjust scrutiny levels according to risk or regulatory need.
• Regional Requirements: Regulations differ by location; some require document-based checks, while others allow lighter age estimation.
• Scalability: Socure supports rapid, scalable processing, delivering a 95th percentile response time of 0.92seconds.
• Audit Readiness: Comprehensive workflows generate detailed audit trails for compliance demonstration. 

Socure’s RiskOS™ orchestration platform helps organizations comply with complex global and regional rules by providing configurable workflows. Using the drag-and-drop interface, businesses can select passive checks, biometric age estimation, or full document verification to meet requirements. As regulations evolve, these workflows can be quickly adapted to stay compliant. 

When document checks are needed, Socure’s DocV solution accurately verifies 98.3% of identities on the first attempt. The process includes real-time analysis of government-issued IDs, and matches the user’s ID photo to a live selfie using advanced biometric liveness detection. This combination helps businesses quickly identify underage users or fraudulent documents with precision, while supporting a broad range of government-issued credentials worldwide. For industries such as gaming or financial services, where strict KYC compliance requirements apply, DocV provides a secure and compliant option.

Socure’s workflows are designed for speed and minimal friction. Passive verification (using data such as phone, email, or date of birth) and autofill features help users complete onboarding quickly. Higher-assurance levels escalate users to ID verification only when needed. This multi-layer strategy helps businesses identify underage users while maximizing auto-approvals and conversion rates, especially among younger and privacy-conscious demographics.

Socure is uniquely positioned as the leader in age assurance because it offers:

• Flexible, customizable workflows: Drag and drop, no-code workflows make it easy to adapt to changing regulations across jurisdictions to deploy age assurance flows that fit the requirements for every industry, region, and business
• Unmatched accuracy: Industry-leading match rates for younger demographics, where traditional providers often fail.
• Digital Intelligence Signals: Device health, householding (associating devices to an IP or household), and behavioral analytics supplement age estimation and can indicate if an account is likely associated with juvenile interactions.
• Adaptive orchestration: RiskOS™ enables modular customization, so businesses can rapidly adapt to new regulations or markets without heavy engineering.
• Guardian consent: A unique differentiation, allowing organizations to implement compliant parental consent flows tied to verified guardian devices.
• Scalability & global reach: Instant response times, high automation rates, and support for 190+ countries. 
• Unified Solution: Unlike competitors relying on single methods, such as ID checks or face-based estimation, Socure provides an integrated, multi-layered platform for every use case, industry, and region.