Announced by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and digital chief Virkkunen, the open-source app uses zero-knowledge proof technology to let users confirm their age without exposing personal data to platforms. It enters a pilot phase with member states. No EU-wide binding minimum age exists yet.
The European Commission has declared its age verification app technically ready, with Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announcing at a Brussels press conference on Wednesday that it will soon be available for platforms to deploy across the EU.
The app, presented alongside Executive Vice-President and digital chief Henna Virkkunen, is the Commission’s answer to a question that has divided regulators, platforms, and privacy advocates for years: how to verify a user’s age online without creating a surveillance infrastructure that undermines the privacy of everyone who uses it.
The technical approach is the most significant aspect of the announcement. Rather than requiring platforms to store identity documents or facial recognition data, the app uses zero-knowledge proof cryptography, a method that allows a user to mathematically demonstrate that a claim is true (in this case, that they are above a minimum age) without revealing any underlying information.
Users upload a passport or national ID card to the app, which then generates a verifiable age credential. Platforms receive confirmation of eligibility without accessing the document itself.
The solution is fully open source, compatible with both mobile and desktop devices, and built on the same technical architecture as the EU’s COVID digital certificate, a system that demonstrated the bloc can deploy cross-border digital credential infrastructure at scale.
It is also designed to be compatible with the European Digital Identity Wallets currently being rolled out across member states, with full deployment expected by the end of 2026.
The app now enters a pilot phase with participating member states, online platforms, end users, and third-party software providers. The Commission is making the technical specifications and source code publicly available, allowing publishers to customise the app, including translation into national languages, while prohibiting any modification of its privacy-preserving features.
Virkkunen said the Commission will also establish a European co-ordination mechanism to ensure consistency as member states implement their own national age verification schemes, which currently vary significantly in approach and minimum age thresholds.
The app arrives as at least a dozen European countries, including the UK and Norway, have enacted or are actively considering legislation setting minimum age limits for social media, typically between 13 and 16 years.
Greece has announced it will prohibit social media access for children under 15 from next year.
The European Parliament approved a non-binding resolution in November calling for an EU-wide minimum age of 16. No binding EU legislation has been adopted yet.
The European context is shaped by Australia, which introduced a groundbreaking ban on social media for children under 16 in late 2025, becoming the first country to implement such a restriction at national scale.
The Commission is running the app launch in parallel with sharpened DSA enforcement targeting platforms that fail to protect minors. It has opened formal proceedings to investigate whether Snapchat is complying with child protection rules under the Digital Services Act, signing a memorandum of understanding with the Dutch Digital Services Coordinator to support the investigation.
The Commission has also reached preliminary findings that Pornhub, Stripchat, XNXX, and XVideos are in breach of the DSA for allowing minors to access their services. An expert panel on children’s online safety is expected to deliver recommendations by summer 2026.
Ursula Von der Leyen was unequivocal about the enforcement posture: “Online platforms can easily rely on our age verification app so there are no more excuses. We will have zero tolerance for companies that do not respect our children’s rights.”
