Assessing Age Assurance Technologies: Effectiveness, Side-Effects, and Acceptance
2026-03-26 • Computers and Society
Computers and Society
AI summaryⓘ
The authors review different ways to check someone's age online, like asking directly, guessing based on behavior, or using parental controls. They look at how these methods are built and how well they work, along with their downsides like privacy problems, bias, and censorship. They explain that no method is perfect because people can try to trick them. The authors suggest which methods are better for keeping kids safe online, balancing how effective they are with possible negative effects.
Age assuranceAge verificationAge estimationParental controlPrivacyBiasCensorshipOnline safetyCircumventionAuthentication architectures
Authors
Wouter Lueks, Stephan Dreyer, Hannes Federrath, Judith Simon
Abstract
In this paper, we provide an overview and evaluation of different types of age assurance technologies (AAT). We describe and analyse 1) different approaches to age assurance online (age verification, age estimation, age inference, and parental control and consent), as well as 2) different age assurance architectures (online, offline device-based, offline credential-based), and assess their various combinations with regards to their respective a) effectiveness, b) side effects, and c) acceptance. We then discuss general limitations of AAT's effectiveness stemming from the possibility of circumvention and outline the most important side effects, in particular regarding privacy and anonymity of all users; bias, discrimination, and exclusion; as well as censorship and related concerns. We conclude our analyses by offering some recommendations on which types of AAT are better or less suited to protect minors online. Guiding our assessment is a weighing of effectiveness against side effects, resulting in a graduated hierarchy of acceptable AAT mechanisms.