Jumio Study Finds Strong Global Support For Protecting Minors Online
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 14 (Bernama) -- Jumio’s 2026 Online Identity Study has revealed strong consumer support for protecting minors online and growing expectations for platforms to implement effective, proportionate age assurance.
The research found that 81 per cent of global consumers and 84 per cent in Singapore think access to age-gated materials online is harmful to minors. Consumers also indicated that they are open to participating in age verification efforts, with 75 per cent globally and 81 per cent in Singapore willing to verify their age online to ensure minors cannot access adult products and platforms.
According to Jumio in a statement, 83 per cent of consumers in Singapore also believe age verification is an important tool for preventing access to harmful or restricted content, although opinions vary on who bears the ultimate responsibility.
Respondents identified parents (68 per cent) as having the most responsibility for protecting minors online, followed by government agencies (36 per cent), individuals themselves (29 per cent) and tech marketplaces (18 per cent). Notably, 84 per cent in Singapore also support government action to regulate access.
While consumers support stronger protections for minors online, effective age assurance also requires their participation. The findings reveal challenges for digital platforms, as consumers in Singapore want stronger safeguards, but some remain hesitant to complete identity checks or share personal information to enable them.
In Singapore, 36 per cent of respondents said they would avoid a platform entirely if asked to provide personal data for age verification, while 46 per cent would choose a less secure or less convenient platform to avoid identity checks altogether. Meanwhile, 78 per cent said they would feel more comfortable if they only had to share proof of eligibility rather than full personal details.
The findings underscore the balancing act facing digital platforms in delivering the level of assurance needed to effectively protect minors while making the verification experience proportionate to the risk and minimising unnecessary friction for legitimate users.
This highlights the importance of modern digital IDs, which can provide age assurance without sharing personal data. Building trust in the age assurance experience also requires organisations to explain why verification is necessary and how personal information is handled and protected.
Consumers also signalled strong interest in verification models such as reusable identity solutions that reduce repetitive checks while maintaining strong assurance. Some 65 per cent globally and 70 per cent in Singapore said they would prefer to verify their age once and reuse that verification across multiple platforms, rather than repeating the process each time.
The research also highlights why there is no one-size-fits-all approach to age assurance. Age estimation uses a selfie to predict a person’s age and produces a probabilistic signal, while age verification confirms that an individual meets a specific age threshold using information from a government-issued ID, typically supported by identity and liveness checks.
As age verification requirements continue to expand globally, the research suggests consumers are willing to participate in stronger identity checks, but only if organisations can demonstrate transparency, privacy protection and responsible data handling. For digital platforms, building trust may depend as much on explaining how data is protected as on the verification technology itself.
-- BERNAMA