Yoti’s AI-powered age estimation software earns independent certification

The age estimation solution by Yoti has obtained independent certification from the United Kingdom’s Age Check Certification Scheme (ACCS) as a solution capable of determining that a person 18 years of age (the age of majority for age-restricted products) is under 25.

Robin Tombs, Yoti co-founder and chief executive officer made the announcement on his verified LinkedIn account, and said it is the first such software to earn that certification.

The certification noted that the age estimation software can be deployed to satisfy the requirements of the UK’s ‘Challenge 25’ age-checking policy with up to 98.86 percent reliability.

“The certification officer’s decision is that a certificate of conformity can be issued subject to the performance throttling at uncertainty level 4.6 years being set and subject to the exclusions related to the limitations of this test not covering inherent bias, data protection and privacy, age appropriate design, data interchange formats, vectors of trust, presentation attack detection, penetration testing and security protocols,” a portion of the ACCS executive summary report reads.

“This industry is only two years old and despite appreciating Yoti’s transparent publishing of regular white papers on our accuracy and bias performance, some experts understandably want to see independent expert verification. It’s a great credit that the UK is now able to certify age estimation solutions, so providing reassurance to regulators, businesses and the public,” Yoti’s CEO said of the certification.

The age estimation solution by Yoti is a platform that is powered by what the company says is sophisticated artificial intelligence technology. Customers scan their faces to get an instant age estimation, and are not required to give any other details about themselves.

Tombs said since the service was unveiled about 21 months ago, they have been able to anonymously checked over 400 million ages for businesses, and the faces that have been age-estimated are not stored by Yoti.

He reiterated the importance of age estimation saying it “benefits those adults who do not have passports or driving licenses, or who wish to remain anonymous whilst providing evidence they are over 18 online or when buying age restricted products,” while also helping in reducing online harms.

Article Topics

accuracy  |  age verification  |  biometric age estimation  |  biometrics  |  certification  |  data protection  |  privacy  |  research and development  |  UK  |  Yoti