--- title: Shortlist of age checks for the UK's under-16 social... description: Ofcom has shortlisted four 'highly effective age assurance' methods for the UK's proposed under-16 social media ban. The options are photo-ID matching, banking... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/shortlist-of-age-checks-for-the-uk-s-under-16-social-media-ban-is-out-some-adults-will-need-verif-7kwccvioi twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Shortlist of age checks for the UK's under-16 social media ban is out, 'some' adults will need verifying | daily.dev og:description: Ofcom has shortlisted four 'highly effective age assurance' methods for the UK's proposed under-16 social media ban. The options are photo-ID matching, banking... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/shortlist-of-age-checks-for-the-uk-s-under-16-social-media-ban-is-out-some-adults-will-need-verif-7kwccvioi og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/7kwccvioI.png og:image:alt: Shortlist of age checks for the UK's under-16 social media ban is out, 'some' adults will need verifying og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Shortlist of age checks for the UK's under-16 social media ban is out, 'some' adults will need verifying **[The Register](https://daily.dev/sources/theregister)** · 6 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary Ofcom has shortlisted four 'highly effective age assurance' methods for the UK's proposed under-16 social media ban. The options are photo-ID matching, banking checks, digital ID services, and facial age estimation, down from seven originally considered. An estimated 94% of 16-17-year-olds in the UK have a form of photo ID, while around 150,000 have neither. Ofcom admits circumvention can't be fully eliminated and will monitor bypass attempts for 12 months after the ban takes effect, which is expected next year. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### What age verification methods has Ofcom approved for the UK's under-16 social media ban? Ofcom shortlisted four methods: photo-ID matching, banking checks, digital ID services, and facial age estimation. These were narrowed down from seven originally proposed under the Online Safety Act. Three other methods (credit card checks, mobile network checks, email checks) are reserved for verifying adults aged 18 and above rather than 16-year-olds. _Developers building identity verification flows can track evolving compliance requirements like this on daily.dev._ ### How many UK teenagers have the photo ID needed for the new age verification requirements? Around 94 percent of 16-17-year-olds in the UK have a form of photo ID, such as a passport, driving licence, or a Proof of Age Standards Scheme card. That leaves roughly 150,000 teenagers without any qualifying ID, who would need to acquire one to access online services under the planned rules. _Anyone weighing the real-world impact of age-check regulations can follow policy details like these on daily.dev._ ### Has age verification under the UK Online Safety Act actually stopped kids from accessing restricted content? No, researchers found existing age checks under the Online Safety Act were largely ineffective at keeping under-18s away from adult content. Some users reportedly bypassed facial age estimation checks with just a drawn-on moustache. England's Children's Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza said the Act 'has made absolutely no difference' to children's ability to access potentially harmful content. _Engineers assessing age-assurance tech can follow how well these checks hold up in practice on daily.dev._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [UK to require ID or face scan before you can make social media accounts](https://daily.dev/posts/uk-to-require-id-or-face-scan-before-you-can-make-social-media-accounts-0mhbuf8lk) · BleepingComputer · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Weekly Update 488](https://daily.dev/posts/weekly-update-488-wypwfin5i) · Troy Hunt · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Australia’s under-16 social media ban stumbles at the first age check, testers find](https://daily.dev/posts/australia-s-under-16-social-media-ban-stumbles-at-the-first-age-check-testers-find-ny0c7nejo) · The Next Web · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Won’t Somebody Please Think Of Banning The British Children\!](https://daily.dev/posts/won-t-somebody-please-think-of-banning-the-british-children--41etqzxes) · Hackaday · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [UK social media ban will restrict some features on game platforms](https://daily.dev/posts/uk-social-media-ban-will-restrict-some-features-on-game-platforms-aykosur19) · Game Developer · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#privacy](https://daily.dev/tags/privacy) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/shortlist-of-age-checks-for-the-uk-s-under-16-social-media-ban-is-out-some-adults-will-need-verif-7kwccvioi) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Shortlist of age checks for the UK's under-16 social media ban is out, 'some' adults will need verifying","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/shortlist-of-age-checks-for-the-uk-s-under-16-social-media-ban-is-out-some-adults-will-need-verif-7kwccvioi","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/shortlist-of-age-checks-for-the-uk-s-under-16-social-media-ban-is-out-some-adults-will-need-verif-7kwccvioi"},"datePublished":"2026-10-29T12:34:43.245Z","dateModified":"2026-10-30T15:54:27.086Z","description":"Ofcom has shortlisted four 'highly effective age assurance' methods for the UK's proposed under-16 social media ban. 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