Age Gating Strategy
Choosing and documenting the right age verification approach for your platform.
The Three Levels of Age Verification
1. Simple Age Self-Declaration
The user enters their date of birth or confirms they are above a threshold. No verification of accuracy.
Suitable for: General audience platforms where children's content is incidental, not the primary use case. Low assurance — easy to circumvent.
Requires:
- Clear age threshold statement
- Documentation that data from under-age users is not stored or processed if they exit the flow
2. Age-Gated Registration
Date of birth collected at registration. Under-age users are blocked or redirected to a parental consent flow.
Suitable for: Platforms with mixed content where some sections are age-restricted, or where the audience may include minors.
Requires:
- Age field in registration with validation
- Clear handling logic: what happens if user is under threshold?
- Parental consent workflow if under-age users are admitted (see COPPA)
3. Verified Age (Higher Assurance)
Age verification against a reliable third-party source: credit card check, document verification (passport/ID), digital identity services.
Suitable for: Platforms with age-restricted content (adult, gambling adjacent, age-restricted products), or where regulatory requirements specify a higher assurance standard.
Requires:
- Third-party age verification provider integration
- Data minimisation: only collect what is needed for verification
- Retention: verification results vs. full ID documents — different retention rules apply
Kids Mode / Restricted Experience
A separate, age-appropriate experience with restricted content, limited or no tracking, and parental controls.
Suitable for: Family platforms, services with distinct adult and kids sections (think Netflix Kids profile model).
What to Document
Regardless of which approach you choose, document:
- Age threshold: Which age threshold applies and why (COPPA = under 13; UK Age-Appropriate Design Code = under 18)
- Data collected during verification: Date of birth, verification result, timestamp
- What happens if user is under threshold: Block, redirect, parental consent flow, or kids mode
- Parental consent workflow (if under-age users are admitted): How is parental consent obtained and stored?
- Data retention: How long is age data retained?
Age verification requirements differ by jurisdiction, content type, and platform. This is a starter framework — not legal advice.
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