The European Commission says the app will be free, anonymous and available on any device and has told EU countries they must roll it out by the end of 2026.
Europeans will soon be able to use a new app to prove their age when accessing online platforms, as part of wider efforts by the bloc to protect children from harmful content.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
The European Commission said in an announcement on Wednesday that its age verification app is now ready to be deployed across EU countries.
The app is designed to help shield children from inappropriate or illegal material, as well as risks such as online grooming, cyberbullying, and “addictive platform design”.
As European member states weigh up social media bans for children under the age of 15 due to mental health concerns, age verification tools have become key to the debate.
The age verification app will allow people to confirm they are old enough to use certain online services without sharing more personal information than necessary.
How does it work?
Users will be able to set it up with a passport or identity card. Once registered, they can use it to prove their age when asked by an online platform.
The app will be free, anonymous, and available on any device. EU member states must make it available by the end of 2026, as set out by the bloc’s recommendations.
Governments will be able to offer it as a standalone app or build it into European Digital Identity Wallets, an app in the pipeline that will let users store information like official ID and bank details in a single place to prove their identity to access public and private services across Europe.
Several EU countries, including France, Germany, and Spain, already have their own rules requiring age checks on some websites, particularly adult sites.
The app is also open source, meaning other countries and partners outside the EU could adapt it.
The Commission plans to create an EU age verification scheme, which will set privacy and security standards for providers and developers.
It will then publish a list of providers that meet those standards.
Privacy concerns
However, privacy campaigners and academics have raised concerns about age checks online.
In March, hundreds of academics from 29 countries warned in an open letter that age verification should not be introduced on social media sites until privacy and security risks have been properly addressed.
The Commission said its app is designed to avoid unnecessary data sharing and allow people to browse the internet privately.
The age verification tool is one part of a broader EU push to improve child safety online.
The Commission has also taken action against major platforms under digital safety rules.
This week, the Commission said Meta violated these rules over alleged failures to stop children under 13 from using Instagram and Facebook.
