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Governments, platforms, and enterprises across the globe are facing unprecedented pressure to protect minors online, comply with rapidly evolving age-verification laws, and reduce exposure to privacy, security, and regulatory risk. From the EU Digital Services Act (DSA) to COPPA, GDPR, the UK Online Safety Act, and dozens of new national frameworks, organizations must now responsibly determine user age—without compromising privacy, user experience, or business performance.
Yet most age-assurance technologies rely on server-side processing, the transmission of sensitive biometric data, or storage of personal information. These traditional approaches introduce compliance challenges, increase liability, and create friction for users.
PrivateID solves these challenges at their core.
Our Age Assurance Platform provides the safest, fastest, most private, and most accurate way to determine or verify user age—without ever sending images or PII off the user’s device. Built on advanced edge-computing technology and proven in global production environments for years, PrivateID has become the trusted choice for major enterprises across industries.
This blog explores what makes our platform fundamentally different, what problems it solves, and why organizations consistently choose PrivateID over traditional competitors.
The Foundation: Edge-Based Processing for Maximum Privacy and Speed
At the heart of PrivateID’s platform is a simple but powerful architectural principle:
All core processing—biometric capture, age estimation, matching, liveness detection, and document data extraction—runs directly on the user’s device.
No images or personal data are transmitted or stored. Processing is performed in real time through:
- WebAssembly (WASM) for browser-based flows
- Native iOS (Swift) and Android (Kotlin) SDKs
- Python and C SDKs for enterprise and embedded environments
This architecture yields transformative advantages:
- No user consent required, including for minors under COPPA
- No GDPR, CCPA, BIPA, or HIPAA data exposure
- Ultra-low latency and real-time feedback
- Reduced fraud and spoofing risk
- Minimal bandwidth dependency
- A frictionless, high-conversion user experience
This is why major global enterprises have relied on PrivateID for years—our system eliminates the data-handling liabilities that make most age verification solutions high-risk.
Two Core Solutions: Age Estimation and Age Verification
PrivateID’s Age Assurance Platform consists of two primary solutions that can be used independently or together depending on regulatory or business requirements.
1. Facial Age Estimation (On-Device + Liveness)
PrivateID’s on-device facial age estimation uses advanced deep-learning models to determine probable user age with exceptional accuracy. The system includes iBeta PAD Level 1 and Level 2 certified liveness detection, protecting against attacks such as:
- Printed photos
- Digital screen replays
- 3D printed masks
- Deepfakes
It supports both still images and continuous video streams, making it ideal for:
- Social platforms
- Live-streaming apps
- UGC environments
- Online communities
- Content moderation workflows
Because all inference runs locally, users receive real-time guidance (“improve lighting,” “move closer,” “center your face”) to complete the process quickly.
The accuracy of the system is independently validated:
- EAL3 certification through the Age Check Certification Scheme (ACCS)
- Benchmark-tested with the lowest Mean Absolute Error (MAE) among leading competitors
This combination of privacy, speed, accuracy, and security is unmatched in the industry.
2. Age Verification (Selfie + Government ID) — 100% On-Device
When regulations require more formal verification, PrivateID provides a full on-device selfie + ID verification workflow.
The user captures a selfie and a photo of a government-issued ID.
PrivateID performs:
- On-device 1:1 facial matching to confirm the ID belongs to the holder
- On-device liveness detection
- On-device OCR and date-of-birth extraction
Again, no image or PII leaves the device.
This workflow meets the needs of more regulated industries such as retail, financial services, healthcare, online marketplaces, and age-restricted commerce.
When organizations require even higher assurance, PrivateID offers optional server-based checks—including forensic document inspection and attribute verification—capable of achieving NIST 800-63-3 IAL2 standards. These checks require temporary server processing but all images are deleted immediately after use.
Just like our facial age estimation system, the on-device nature of this workflow eliminates the need for user consent and significantly simplifies compliance.
Why Major Enterprises Choose PrivateID Over Competitors
Organizations select PrivateID for reasons that go beyond privacy alone. Our platform delivers a combination of technological, operational, and compliance advantages that competitors cannot match.
Unmatched Privacy and Regulatory Compliance
With no data ever leaving the device, PrivateID minimizes compliance exposure across:
- COPPA
- GDPR
- CCPA
- BIPA
- HIPAA
- EU DSA
- UK Online Safety Act
This dramatically reduces regulatory burdens across global markets.
Superior Accuracy and Security
PrivateID consistently ranks at the top of industry benchmarks, with:
- Lowest MAE in competitive testing
- ACCS EAL3 certification
- iBeta PAD 1 & PAD 2 certification
These third-party validations give enterprises confidence in real-world performance.
Real-Time Speed and Ultra-Low Latency
Edge processing avoids network delays, enabling:
- Instant results
- Higher conversion rates
- Lower abandonment
- Real-time user feedback
- Robustness in low-bandwidth environments
Support for Use Cases Competitors Cannot Address
PrivateID enables capabilities other providers simply cannot match, such as:
- Embedding age estimation and liveness detection directly into live-streaming or video content
- Fully offline or poor-network workflows
- High-scale edge-native deployments
- Embedded device and IoT integration via C SDK
Flexible Deployment Models
Customers can deploy PrivateID as:
- SaaS (hosted by PrivateID)
- PaaS (hosted in the customer’s cloud: AWS, GCP, Azure)
- Hybrid implementations
- API-based flows (optional and less privacy-preserving)
Proven Global Scale
PrivateID’s solutions have been deployed for years, powering high-volume, high-reliability workflows for some of the largest enterprises in the world across multiple continents.
Key Use Cases Across Industries
PrivateID solves age assurance challenges across numerous categories:
Online Platforms & UGC Networks
- Complying with DSA, COPPA, UK OSA
- Protecting minors from adult content
- Enforcing age-based feature restrictions
Social Media & Live-Streaming
- Real-time age estimation within video workflows
- Preventing underage broadcasting or participation
- Automated safety triggers
Retail, E-Commerce & Age-Restricted Products
- Alcohol, tobacco, vapes
- Lottery & gaming
- Prescription products
- Age-restricted marketplaces
Gaming, Esports & Metaverse
- In-world age gating
- Ensuring compliance with parental control laws
- Moderating age-specific content
Healthcare & Telemedicine
- Verifying eligibility for services
- Enabling privacy-first patient onboarding
Physical Access & Workforce Management
- Age verification for restricted facilities
- Secure identity checks without server dependencies
The Future of Age Assurance Is On-Device
As global expectations for privacy strengthen and governments introduce increasingly strict age-assurance requirements, organizations need solutions that are both effective and respectful of user rights.
PrivateID delivers exactly that.
Our on-device, privacy-first architecture combined with industry-leading accuracy, speed, and certified security makes PrivateID the most advanced and trusted age assurance platform in the world.
With years of proven global deployments and a roadmap built around continuous innovation, PrivateID is redefining what safe, compliant, and user-friendly age assurance looks like.