A New Privacy-Preserving Age Assurance technology for the Digital Age

As policymakers globally work to strengthen online child safety laws and age-appropriate design standards, digital platforms face mounting pressure to confirm users’ ages. 

Yet most existing approaches—manual ID checks, user-submitted selfies, third-party verification tools—require collecting and storing sensitive personal information. These methods can compromise privacy, are difficult to scale, and often expose platforms to data security risks. They are also vulnerable to AI tools that enable high quality synthetic images and IDs to be created. 

What if confirming your age didn’t require giving up any data at all?

With World ID, it’s possible to confirm an individual’s age privately, securely, and anonymously—without sharing personal information with service providers.

A New Approach: Age Assurance with World ID

World ID introduces an anonymous way to confirm age, powered by zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs). This method allows someone to prove they meet an age requirement—like being over 18—without sharing any other information.

How It Works:

Most modern passports include an NFC chip with a government-issued digital signature verifying the document’s authenticity. Using World App, individuals can tap their passport to their phone and add it as a credential. The app reads and encrypts the relevant information—including date of birth—and stores it only on the individual’s device. This is made possible through the Personal Custody feature, which ensures that no data is uploaded to a cloud or centralized database.

When a digital service needs to confirm an individual meets a minimum age threshold, World uses a ZKP to confirm eligibility. The online platform receives a simple binary answer—yes or no—about whether the person meets their age rule, with no personal information shared, not even with World. Of note throughout the process: 

• No identity documents are shared with third parties
• No birthdates are revealed
• No services are tracked 

It’s age assurance, with maximum privacy.

How to use World ID, anonymous age assurance

Getting started is easy and quick:

1. Download World App
   No biometric scan or Orb visit required.
2. Add your passport to the ‘Official ID’ section.
   Your data is read from the NFC chip and encrypted on-device only.
3. Use your World ID on participating services to anonymously prove you meet age requirements.

This approach works seamlessly for services with minimum age thresholds (e.g. 18+), and can be integrated via an API on supported platforms.

The World protocol is private by design to learn more, visit Private by design: A guide to World’s privacy pillars and whitepaper.

Stay up to date about World

To stay informed about World, visit the World website or subscribe to the blog below.

You can also join the daily conversation on all World social media channels, or get additional important information concerning the project by reading the World protocol whitepaper.