The OpenAge Initiative, launched by k-ID, provides an interoperable framework for reusing age assurance results across multiple websites and apps. At the core of the framework is the AgeKey, a privacy-preserving digital credential that lets users prove that they meet an age threshold without revealing their identity.
Users obtain an AgeKey primarily after completing an age assurance process directly on an age-restricted service or with a participating age assurance provider. When a platform or provider performs an age check using any approved method, it may offer the user the option to save the successful result as an AgeKey. Alternatively, AgeKeys can be created on AgeKey.org, where users can complete a verification independently if they wish. Additional issuance pathways, including mobile driver licences and wallets, are planned. AgeKeys are stored locally on the user’s device using passkey-based technology, leveraging the security and seamlessness of a very broadly adopted standard.
When a user already has an AgeKey and chooses to use it on a participating platform, the service requests the required age threshold and any filters it needs to apply to the underlying age signals e.g. method, age-range, issuer. The user then confirms their AgeKey on their device using their usual screen lock through a standard passkey WebAuthn ceremony. A privacy-preserving confirmation is returned stating that the user meets the required age. This yes/no confirmation includes no identity data and cannot be used for tracking or matching one user across multiple services.
The double-blind design ensures that the service cannot see which provider performed the original age check or recognize a returning user, and the provider cannot see where the user later reuses their AgeKey. This prevents any tracking of the user’s activity. Each service chooses which types of AgeKey to accept by applying the appropriate filters. Pricing follows a transparent cost-recovery model.
For further information: https://openageinitiative.org/