With OpenAge, k-ID presents itself as one big interoperable solution for age checks

A new initiative from k-ID is aiming to corner the market on reusable age checks, with support from tech’s heavy hitters. The OpenAge initiative, which launches today, leverages cryptographic proof-of-age tokens called AgeKeys, which can be housed on a user’s device and re-used for age verification across various apps and websites.

In the proposed scenario, AgeKeys are created with an initial age check; currently OpenAge offers selfie-based facial age estimation and document verification for this purpose. According to its Privacy Policy, “when you create an AgeKey, your device creates a passkey using FIDO/WebAuthn. This is your cryptographic key pair: your private key stays on your device or password manager and never leaves it; your public key is shared with us and stored in our servers together with a confirmation of your age range (e.g., “This user is over the age of [x]”), the method and age assurance provider you used to prove your age, and a timestamp.”

This suggests that initial verification can be done through a provider of choice. However, every re-use of the token goes through k-ID at miniscule cost for the customer per check, supposedly made possible by volume. (There is no cost to the user.) The token system, which conforms with ISO/IEC 27001:2022, is built on standards established by the FIDO Alliance and the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), and effectively functions like a passkey for age verification.

OpenAge, which introduced itself to the world in a splashy Politico article last Friday, is positioning itself as the industry’s first concerted effort to respond to the wave of online safety laws sweeping the globe. But that claim conveniently ignores the similar ongoing efforts by the euCONSENT nonprofit project to develop and promote its own token-based reusable age check system, AgeAware – and raises questions about how much of the age assurance pie k-ID would be taking if the initiative succeeds.

Buy-in from big players could mean trouble for developing age check sector

Among organizations joining the advisory board for OpenAge is the Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI), whose member firms include Facebook, Google, Microsoft, AOL, Comcast, Yahoo and other communications and media behemoths. The Centre for Information Policy Leadership and the WeProtect Global Alliance also have reps on the board – and the same big companies in their membership.

If all of these companies agree to funnel re-checks through k-ID, there will be diminishing room left for other vendors in the age assurance sector, which are already facing pressure from developing government digital ID programs, which would put age verification in the hands of the state.

Julian Corbett, a co-founder of k-ID, says that “what OpenAge represents is a very accurate reflection of what the vast majority of industry wants to see emerge.” While reusable checks and interoperability are certainly part of the industry’s shared objectives, few would recommend handing the keys to one provider. And while OpenAge pitches itself as a “public interest initiative,” k-ID remains a private, for-profit firm.

The Singapore-based company, which was founded in 2023 by Australian lawyer Kieran Donovan, is not a member of the Age Verification Providers Association (AVPA). Technically, it is a compliance platform, which dynamically customizes content according to regional regulations.

However, AVPA’s membership does include Opale, the French company that invented the AgeKey system – and which k-ID acquired. Moreover, Opale appears to have already done AgeKey deals with other biometrics vendors, notably Yoti, with whom it announced a strategic partnership in April 2025, and Uniyssey, which it partnered with in March.

Discord, Snap, Quora suspected to be among first AgeKey adopters

OpenAge is clearly aware that its proposal will raise eyebrows. Its FAQ includes the question, “how will AgeKeys affect the age verification industry?” Its answer is that “by enabling interoperability and reusability, AgeKey allows age assurance systems to scale sustainably across the internet, and drives the adoption of this technology for many more sites and services.”

As to its would-be competitors, according to its website, “OpenAge only manages AgeKey, we do however partner with 3rd parties that can offer turnkey solutions that enable full age assurance flow that can be under 1 cent per usage.”

Per the Politico article, the initiative gives the tech industry “a significant bargaining chip for future regulations requiring age verification.”

“If the OpenAge Initiative becomes an industry standard, future policy proposals could be built around what the majority of the industry has already adopted, or used to sway upcoming proposals,” it says. Tapping into existing passkey standards – which have the benefit of years of efforts by the FIDO Alliance to drive adoption – also gives the system an edge.

OpenAge makes its debut today at the FOSI Conference in Washington, DC. It is set to officially announce its first participating platforms on December 10, but Politico found evidence on the OpenAge website suggesting that Discord, Snap, Quora, Tumblr and Kick were among those planning to implement the AgeKey system.

Momentum is currently on k-ID’s side: In October, the firm was named as TIME Magazine’s best inventions of 2025 in its Privacy & Security category, specifically recognizing AgeKit, k-ID’s universal age API that automates compliance. It also announced a partnership with Hasbro’s Wizards of the Coast online game suite, which includes Dungeons & Dragons and Magic the Gathering. And it has funding from Andreessen Horowitz, one of Silicon Valley’s most powerful VCs.

In comments emailed to Biometric Update, AVPA says it has “always supported interoperability, governed by a non-profit entity, based on international standards with age assurance providers subject to independent audit and certification.” However, it also says “there must be clarity about liability through clear contractual relationships, and the success of any such arrangement relies on maintaining a sustainable commercial market for reliable age checks.”

Biometric Update has reached out to k-ID and OpenAge for further comment.

Article Topics

age verification  |  AgeKeys  |  AVPA  |  biometric age estimation  |  facial age estimation (FAE)  |  k-ID  |  OpenAge  |  passkeys  |  reusable digital ID  |  selfie biometrics