Digital ID age checks start this week in England and Wales, as new laws let pubs, off-licences, nightclubs and restaurants use biometric scanning technology to check whether customers are over 18. The change gives drinkers a new way to prove age at the door or the bar, while old-style plastic IDs still remain valid.
Stephanie Peacock and 30 seconds
Stephanie Peacock said the change means people do not need to carry a physical ID or hand over sensitive personal information such as a name or address just to prove their age. The practical test is speed, because the customer will typically have about 30 seconds between scanning a face on a phone and validating the credential with the retailer.
Customers can download software that scans their face into their own phone and generates a QR code proving age based on a stored proof of age. That keeps the check inside the customer’s device instead of passing a passport or driving licence across the counter, and the government says it should reduce the risk of fraudulent ID and sensitive data being exposed.
Yoti and Luciditi apps
The system will be supplied by private companies and will not be mandatory, with Yoti and Luciditi among the app providers. Yoti says about a quarter of 18- to 25-year-olds in the UK have already downloaded its digital ID app or EasyID, and it says about 8.5 million people in the UK are using its digital ID apps overall.
Allen Simpson said the rollout should be cost-efficient and not burdensome for the hospitality sector, which is the real operational test for pubs and restaurants. If the process adds too many steps at the till or at the door, staff are likely to fall back on passports and driving licences even when the new option is available.
Andy Burnham and civil liberties
The push comes after Andy Burnham axed plans for a national digital ID this summer amid concerns about civil liberties. That leaves a narrower scheme focused on age checks for alcohol, not a universal ID card system, and the government says the same approach could later be extended to purchases of vapes and tobacco.
The rollout is expected to be patchy because different alcohol vendors are likely to accept different apps, so customers may need more than one option on their phone before a night out. A finger-vein scanner has not yet been approved for use, which leaves face-scanning apps as the only named route in the scheme for now.
