THE LINUX FOUNDATION PROJECTS

Know Your Customer Age Verification

API Description
The “Know Your Customer Age Verification” API enables applications to check whether the subscriber associated with a mobile line meets or exceeds a required age threshold.

 

The API helps digital service providers control access to age-restricted products, services, content or experiences without relying only on self-declared age or requiring the user to share their full date of birth with the application.

Developers can use the API during registration, login, checkout, content access, account activation or ad-serving workflows where an age-based eligibility decision is required.

The API returns a privacy-preserving age verification result indicating whether the age condition is met, not the user’s exact age or birthdate. Depending on provider capabilities and local implementation, the response may also include optional indicators such as verification status, identity match score, content lock or parental control information.

The API is not a generic identity verification API, not a document scanning service and not a full parental-control platform. For matching user-provided identity attributes against operator records, use Know Your Customer Match. For retrieving selected customer attributes to pre-fill forms, use Know Your Customer Fill-in.

This API provides:

  • An age verification function that checks whether the subscriber associated with a mobile line meets or exceeds the age threshold requested by the API consumer.
  • A privacy-preserving age result through `ageCheck`, returning `true`, `false` or `not_available`, without returning the user’s exact age or birthdate.
  • Optional confidence and context indicators, where supported by the API provider, such as `verifiedStatus`, `identityMatchScore`, `contentLock` and `parentalControl`.
  • Support for age-restricted digital journeys, including registration, login, checkout, content access, gaming, gambling, adult content, online marketplaces and age-restricted advertising.
Use Cases
  • Age-gated Registration and Onboarding: Digital services can call the KYC Age Verification API during registration or onboarding to check whether the user meets the required age threshold before activating an account or enabling age-restricted features.
  • Access to Age-restricted digital Content: Streaming platforms, gaming services, social platforms and adult-content websites can use the API before granting access to age-restricted content, reducing reliance on self-declared age.
  • Age-restricted Checkout and online Marketplaces: E-commerce platforms and online marketplaces can use the API before allowing the purchase of age-restricted products or services, such as alcohol, tobacco, gambling-related products or other regulated categories, depending on local law and provider policy.
  • Online Gambling and Betting Eligibility: Gambling, betting and gaming operators can use the API as part of their age eligibility checks before allowing access to regulated services or transactions.
  • Age-aware Advertising Controls: Publishers, ad platforms and digital services can use the API to help prevent age-restricted ads, such as gambling or alcohol advertising, from being shown to users who do not meet the required age threshold.
  • Telco and Media Service Content Controls: Telecommunications and media service providers can use the API to support access control for age-restricted TV, streaming, gaming or digital content services, where supported by the provider implementation.

See also at GSMA:

Benefits
  • Low-Friction Age Verification: Enables age checks without requiring users to upload documents, complete manual checks or repeatedly self-declare their age.
  • Privacy-preserving Access Control: Allows applications to check whether an age threshold is met without receiving the user’s exact age or date of birth.
  • Reduced Exposure to inappropriate Services or Content: Helps digital platforms apply age-based access rules before granting access to restricted content, services or products.
  • Improved regulatory Readiness: Supports API consumers in implementing age-based eligibility controls for regulated or sensitive digital journeys, subject to local law and provider policy.
  • Higher Conversion than intrusive Checks: Provides a lighter alternative to document scanning or biometric verification in journeys where a threshold-based age check is sufficient.
  • Developer-friendly Integration: Provides a standardized CAMARA API that can be integrated into registration, login, checkout, content access, advertising and entitlement workflows.
  • Optional additional Context: Where implemented by the API provider, response fields such as `verifiedStatus`, `identityMatchScore`, `contentLock` and `parentalControl` can provide extra context for the API consumer’s decisioning logic.

API Portfolio: Authentication and Fraud Prevention

Sub Project Wiki: Know Your Customer
(incl. how to meet the team)

API Wiki: Know Your Customer Age Verification

API Repository: Know Your Customer Age Verification

API Repository Status: Sandbox

API Status: Initial

API Version(s) and Release Date(s):

  • v0.1.0 (10.03.2025), Spring25 meta-release
  • v0.2.1 (14.09.2025), Fall25 meta-release

API availability: Information which APIs are available in which country and network, and how to get access can be found on the GSMA public launch status page.

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