Age verification is the process of confirming a person’s age online by verifying that they’re over a certain legal age through various methods. However, the most common one that complies with stricter regulatory requirements, such as Know Your Customer (KYC) standards, is asking the user to upload their government-issued ID document, which can be a passport, ID card or a driver’s license, then allowing the system to extract their date of birth and approve or deny their access to certain age-restricted products or services. So, it’s no secret that Shopify stores often use third-party age verification tools like iDenfy’s plugin to meet legal requirements and avoid the complexity of building their own solution from scratch.
This process is widely used in e-commerce, where many age-restricted products, such as vapes, are sold for customer convenience. For example, if a Shopify merchant sells wellness products that include age-restricted items like CBD oil, the store needs to have a mandatory age verification integration used before checkout to actually approve that the customer can legally purchase this item. From a business standpoint, it’s also appealing because setting up a Shopify store is relatively simple, making it easy to start selling even niche items like this that have become mainstream due to the shift to the digital landscape.
Learn how to confirm the customer’s age when offering age-restricted products on Shopify and how to integrate iDefy’s age verification plugin, among other details, like what types of checks are mandatory in the e-commerce industry when verifying proof that the customer is an adult.
What is Age Verification?
Age verification is often considered an element of a bigger Know Your Customer (KYC) framework, targeted at confirming a person’s age, often as part of the onboarding process. However, mandatory KYC checks can be used as an ongoing due diligence measure, for example, for user verification before high-risk, high-value transactions on online marketplaces that would show deviations from the usual customer’s behavior. In the most basic sense, age verification in e-commerce is often conducted before the user checks out and purchases an age-restricted product.
Age verification solutions differ by use case and can take different forms, such as:
- Be a part of a broader KYC system. This option is often offered via easily integrated KYC APIs or as a single tool for age verification in a particular industry or use case, for example, like KYC applications for Shopify.
- Be offered as standalone solutions. For example, single ID document checks or biometric verification (facial recognition and liveness detection), or database checks, which cross-match the user’s personal information with another database, often an official government registry or credit bureau.
Often, companies use multiple layers of verification, especially in sectors like iGaming as opposed to e-commerce, where it’s essential to confirm not just age and identity, but also details like the user’s address (for example, if the online casino is only available in a certain country) and whether the person is on a blocklist.
In general, the stricter the age verification process, including counting in all e-commerce stores, the lower the risk that minors will bypass this security check. Common bypassing attempts include using fake IDs generated by AI or using a parent’s already verified account or ID document. However, adding more verification steps can lead to higher cart abandonment rates, which obviously all e-commerce businesses want to avoid.
Related: How to Use an Age Verification System? A Guide for Businesses
Why Do Shopify Merchants Need Age Verification Integration?
Shopify merchants use age verification software as a way to confirm a person’s age before allowing access to some sort of age-restricted products. This is vital due to several factors:
- Legal compliance. Every Shopify merchant that sells age-restricted items is required to take proper steps to verify that users are above the legal age (for example, by confirming their age or date of birth).
- Ethical principles. Minors accessing items that are only suitable for adults can be dangerous for health reasons, breaching ethical norms, and the company’s position or care about their shop.
As more businesses use Shopify and move their services online, age verification integration becomes inevitable, as this step can’t be missed due to legal and security reasons. Age limits can vary depending on the product and relevant laws, which differ based on the country and operating market as well.
If age-restricted businesses on Shopify fail to integrate proper measures and verify their buyers, they risk getting non-compliance fines and legal penalties, potentially harming their brand and losing customers.
What are the Main Age Verification Challenges for Shopify Merchants?
Some countries accept age gates as an appropriate verification method, others require e-commerce platforms, including Shopify stores, to implement stricter age verification methods that require uploading a government-issued ID document. That’s why there are different privacy norms and document availability that vary by region.
Additionally, Shopify merchants face other challenges, for example:
- Limited data access. Not all jurisdictions offer the same databases, so businesses must adapt their age verification processes by location so that they accept different formats, languages, etc.
- Not enough built-in tools. There is a limited selection of age verification applications specifically designed for Shopify merchants that offer customizable verification flows and a good user experience.
- Lost sales. A poorly built age verification process with multiple complex steps can lead to cart abandonment and push the customer to leave the store and go to a competitor.
Accuracy is another factor, which is very important for a good age verification integration. Increased false positives or mistakes can prevent genuine, age-appropriate users from completing their purchases. Consequently, Shopify merchants need to choose responsibly when integrating an age verification solution.
What are the Common Age Verification Methods for E-Commerce?
Most popular methods among e-commerce businesses for verifying age include:
Document Verification
This is an age verification method where the Shopify merchant asks the customer to upload a government-issued ID photo as a way to confirm their age. Due to better conversions and a good end-user experience, automated software is often used, which works smoothly and guides the buyer throughout the whole process. A proper age verification integration with document checks should be seamless and not require extensive coding or time for the Shopify merchant.
In general, this is the most beneficial option because it’s the most accurate. Official IDs are reliable and hard to replicate. Software spots document forgery and prevents fraudsters from misusing the shop and conducting unauthorized transactions while also ensuring that minors can’t ship themselves items that are intended for adults.
Related: Document Verification — How Does the Process Work?
Credit Card Verification
As having a credit card typically means a person is of a certain age, some e-commerce companies choose credit card checks as age verification. This also confirms that the cardholder is legitimate and can go through the minimum age requirements to purchase the item online. Credit card checks are seen as user-friendly since most shoppers are already familiar with them. They’re widely used by online retailers to meet major credit card company security standards and payments compliance requirements.
However, credit card verification has limitations. Some shoppers who use other methods or prepaid options without actual credit cards can be left out. At some level, this method isn’t as accurate as a document check because the actual date of birth isn’t extracted and verified from the credit card, unlike with an ID card, for example. Underage shoppers can also take their family member’s card and use it without consent, but still be able to successfully purchase the item. This can be solved by layering a credit card check with another age verification method, like biometric verification.
Biometric Verification
This age verification method is often used together with document checks to verify both personal information, such as the buyer’s date of birth, and additionally confirm that this is the same person completing the age verification check. That’s possible because the automation solution, such as iDenfy’s software, compares the facial features, aka biometrics, with the photo on their uploaded document photo, either confirming or denying that it’s a match.
For e-commerce and Shopify merchants, biometric verification is seen as highly secure. It also helps prevent fraud, such as account takeovers where stolen accounts and saved payment data are used for unauthorized purchases, resulting in chargebacks and losses for both the business and the customer. However, this is considered to be more work from the end-user’s side, which makes some merchants turn to biometric solutions that only estimate the age of the shopper based on their facial features without the document part.
In age estimation, AI algorithms decide if the person is old enough (for example, based on their wrinkles) or not. That’s why age estimation (vs complete biometric checks) is not a highly accurate age verification method and isn’t a KYC-compliant option in many jurisdictions.
Database Verification
This involves cross-checking a user’s name, address, date of birth and sometimes other details, such as their SSN (depending on the use case, if it’s more of a financial background check, or, in this case, age verification), against trusted databases, often credit reference agencies, global watchlists or government agencies. In age verification, database verification involves matching the user’s date of birth with official records to both confirm their identity and verify that they’re of legal age.
Some official government databases require paid access, making it difficult to obtain high-quality data, especially when multiple sources are needed to cover a global audience. Privacy laws add another layer of complexity, often limiting direct access. That’s why many businesses rely on third-party age verification or KYC providers who already have secure, up-to-date access to these databases. This saves time and costs, especially for high-traffic Shopify stores.
How to Simplify Age Verification Integration on Shopify?
The key steps that help enhance the end-user experience and elevate the age verification process on your Shopify website include:
- Customize the process. Enable age verification for relevant, age-restricted products on your website using custom rules. Choose the integration solution that offers this feature if you’re leaning towards integrating a third-party application.
- Look for white-label options. Integrate an age verification solution that allows you to change logos, text, and other branding elements that will match your Shopify store while providing a good user experience.
- Keep a compliant data log. Choose an age verification solution that keeps track of age verification results, for example, denied reasons that indicate why a certain user couldn’t pass the check. This helps comply with KYC requirements and prepare for audits.
Many Shopify websites use special age verification applications on the Shopify store, such as iDenfy’s Shopify integration, to simplify this mandatory check by relying on a tailored, easily integrated plugin that ensures compliance without having to build your own app from scratch. This helps install the app directly to your Shopify website without coding. You also get access to a broader, global document coverage, which automatically leads to higher conversions.
How to Integrate iDenfy’s Age Verification App for Shopify?
At iDenfy, we’ve built a special application for all Shopify merchants, which is easily downloadable and can be downloaded directly from the Shopify store:
➡️ The whole deployment process is less than 15 minutes on average and doesn’t require any expertise or extra coding on your end.
➡️ With iDenfy’s Shopigy integration, you can quickly add the age verification process into your framework using presets and an API key.
Here’s a step-by-step breakdown of the Shopify integration process:
1. Install the iDenfy App
Start by visiting the iDenfy Age Verification app page on the Shopify App Store. Click Install app and approve permissions if prompted.
2. Add Your API Credentials
Once installed, open the iDenfy Admin panel in your Shopify dashboard and enter the API Key and API Secret provided by iDenfy. Keep in mind that the key is encrypted and can’t be retrieved again.
Choose where you want to prompt users for age verification:
- On the account page. Shows the verification button on the user’s account page. Prevents access to checkout until verification is complete. A badge is shown once verified.
- Before checkout. Displays a verification button in the cart. Blocks the checkout button until the user is verified via a pop-up dialog.
- After checkout. Shows the verification prompt on the order confirmation page. Useful for post-purchase verification flows.
3. Enable the iDenfy Age Verification App for Your Theme
➡️ There are a few options for this step, depending on your chosen flow.
⚠️ Valid for the Account Page and Before Checkout age verification flows:
- In the Shopify Admin section, navigate to Online Store > Themes > Customize.
- Enable the iDenfy app embed blocks for your selected flow.
- Customize the block using your CTA text, custom button selectors, and styling using CSS variables (for example, modal size, button colors, etc.).
⚠️ Valid for the Account Page and After Checkout age verification flows:
These flows use UI extensions that can embed the iDenfy SDK directly into the interface. Keep in mind that due to Shopify’s extension limitations, custom styling is more restricted here.
The setup consists of these steps:
- In iDenfy settings, choose “Checkout and customer accounts”.
- Add iDenfy’s extension to the Thank You page, Profile page, or Order status page.
3. Click on the extension and choose where you want the age verification block to be displayed.
4. Set Up the Webhook for Syncing Verification Results
Webhooks keep your Shopify store updated with real-time verification results. Make sure to:
- Go to the Webhooks section on iDenfy’s Dashboard.
- Add the ID verification auto-finish webhook with the Receiver URL and the API key.
Please note that requests without the correct API key will be rejected.
5. Sync Verification Data with Customer and Order Info
iDenfy stores verification results directly in your Shopify Admin page next to customer and order data:
➡️ Customer Details
- The user’s email address and phone number are captured and saved during the verification.
- Verification status is tracked using ID scan reference and tags like True (the customer is verified) and False (the user isn’t verified).
- The status tag is automatically added to the customer based on the verification result (for example, idv-approved, idv-denied, and idv-suspected).
➡️ Order Details
- If the customer is logged in, their verification status will appear next to the order Notes.
- If not logged in (for example, when using the Before Checkout flow), the status is still saved in the order section, but not in the Customer record directly (since we don’t have the customer details at the time of verification).
Additionally, you can:
- Enable ID document checks, selfie verification, or both, and customize the process to fit your needs.
- Set age verification checks only for specific products to reduce friction for other shoppers.
Our identity verification and age verification app for Shopify offers:
✔️ 3500+ supported ID documents
✔️ Built-in biometrics & 3D liveness detection
✔️ Options to style buttons, text & other elements
✔️ A flexible flow both on desktop and mobile
✔️ Options to add other iDenfy’s solutions to the same age verification flow, like extra Bank Verification checks
Our Shopify plugin supports 40+ languages and is constantly updated for better accuracy. Integrate it into your Shopify website and reach global markets, verify different ID documents, and boost conversions with a smooth, native-language experience.
For more info and details on the integration, don’t hesitate to book a free demo.
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