Email address age assurance is private, compliant and simple: VerifyMy, Yoti

Email is the technology that never dies, and now it has a use case for age estimation. Both VerifyMy and Yoti are offering age checks based solely on an email address. The process analyzes a user’s digital footprint, comparing the submitted address against online databases and metadata sources to estimate their age.

So, for instance, an email address registered with a mortgage broker or a roofing service could indicate an adult user.

Unlike facial age estimation, the method relies on data that a user had already shared, eliminating the need to share personally identifying information (PIII).

A blog post from Yoti concedes that email-based age assurance has limitations, such as in cases where people use temporary or “burner” email addresses for privacy reasons. Nonetheless, it is considered “highly effective” according to UK regulator Ofcom’s age assurance guidelines, meaning it has been assessed as technically accurate, robust, reliable and fair. “With proper usage in appropriate contexts,” says Yoti, email-based age estimation is widely recognized as a valid method for age checks.”

“While it may not be suitable for high-risk scenarios requiring stronger verification, it serves as an effective option in contexts where privacy and ease of use are priorities.”

More information on the code behind Yoti’s email address age estimation is here.

VerifyMy ‘stealth mode’ enables completely frictionless age estimation

A white paper from VerifyMy goes deeper on email address age assurance, which it agrees with Yoti is “the quickest and easiest way to determine the age of users online.”

“It is fully inclusive and can be used by anyone with an email address. It operates without any discernible bias and can be used by anyone irrespective of gender, race, ethnicity, sexuality or any other discriminatory trait. With most online users already having an email address, this method has close to 100 percent coverage across all web users.”

The UK firm’s email address age estimation incorporates anti-spoofing and fraud prevention, issuing a time-restricted one-time-password (OTP) to prove email ownership in its standard mode. Per the paper, it is “built to incorporate data minimization and privacy-by-design principles,” only collecting the minimal data necessary to provide an age estimate.

“It doesn’t generate any information on who a user is,” VerifyMy says, “only a yes/no response to determine whether they meet a minimum age threshold, such as 18, or a minimum estimated age.”

It also offers the option to operate in “stealth mode,” wherein users registering with their email address for an online service will have their age checked by default as necessary, to provide age assurance “without any impact on the user journey at all.”

In the UK, VerifyMy’s email address age estimation is certified by the Age Check Certification Scheme (ACCS) under PAS 1296:2018 to EAL 3. “The ACCS testing returned 0 percent (and 0 in total) false positive results at a +/-18 threshold, meaning zero users under 18 were estimated to be over 18.” Its true positive rate was assessed at 97.76 percent, and the maximum error for any one individual was two years, “meaning we never overestimated someone to be more than 2 years older than they are.”

The takeaways on email address age assurance are that, while it’s not ideal for high risk scenarios that require tighter age verification, for lower risk scenarios, it offers age assurance that is accessible, free from demographic bias, and does not ask users to submit any personal or biometric data. On its own or combined with other layers of digital security and authentication, it can provide accurate, compliant, friction-free, and indeed altogether highly effective age assurance.

Exclusive webinar aims to help UK buyers choose an age assurance provider

On March 6 at 9 a.m. EST, join Biometric Update for a webinar looking at how to navigate the UK’s Online Safety Act and select the right age assurance method and provider. Ofcom’s guidance on acceptable technology remains broad, leading to some uncertainty for buyers.

This exclusive webinar from Biometric Update and Goode Intelligence bridges the gap between age verification solution providers and businesses seeking compliance. Attendees will gain clarity on Ofcom-recommended AV methods, compare real-world implementations, and engage directly with industry experts including Alan Goode, CEO of Goode Intelligence; Dan Johnson, Chief Product Officer at Luciditi; Geraint Rogers, Identity and Risk Subject Matter Expert at Daon, and more.

Register for the free webinar now.

Article Topics

age verification  |  data privacy  |  digital identity  |  email address age assurance  |  Ofcom  |  Privacy by Design  |  VerifyMy  |  Yoti