Apple is increasing its support of the digital ID age verification agenda and has released iOS 27.2, bringing a new way for Apple to verify your age: by scanning your face with an “age-estimation model” that will be fed by a selfie.
This is one of the ways in which Apple will check the age of its users, and it applies, as the company’s support page states, “Where required by law.”
The legal requirements that make this necessary in the US apply in Texas, and elsewhere in the world in Australia, Brazil, Singapore, South Korea, and the UK. The iOS update that introduces the new method of age verification was released on October 26.
Apple will ask for age verification when you create an Apple Account, “update the software on your device, try to change certain safety settings, or try to download or purchase apps with an age rating of 18+.”
In Australia, Brazil, Singapore, and the UK, the selfie option is available, while in other places, Apple will ask for a credit card, a scan of an ID, or look at information associated with an Apple Account.
Apple’s explains that the selfie option works by letting the user “Capture all four angles of your face by moving your head slowly right, left, up, and down.” To increase the likelihood of the scan being successful, the company advises users to “Remove anything that might cover your face, such as masks, hats, or sunglasses” and to “Make sure only your face is in the frame.”
The models that will be used to estimate age from these selfies will run “both on-device and on Private Cloud Compute,” Apple says, referring to a service it provides that “extends the security and privacy of your Apple device into the cloud.” The results will then be “combined on your device.”
Apple promises that the selfie “isn’t accessible to anyone, not even Apple,” and that “Once your age is confirmed, your selfie is deleted and isn’t retained in any form.”
Apple has not revealed the accuracy of the age-estimation model, what happens when it misidentifies an adult as a minor, or what record of the result is kept by the company. Those who are not verified as at least 18 by the model are advised to either try another selfie or use another method.
The other methods Apple will use to determine age are: looking at information associated with the user’s account, such as whether they have a credit card on file or how long they have had their Apple Account; and scanning an ID. The image of the ID is “kept for a short period of time to complete this process, after which it’s deleted,” Apple says, and adds that “Debit cards and gift cards aren’t supported.”
