As parents, we do our best to teach our kids how to stay safe online. We put limits on screen time. We use the settings available on their devices to help protect their privacy and reduce their exposure to potential dangers.
But those steps still leave room for risk, partly because reliable age verification systems are not currently the norm. It’s a problem I have been grappling with for years, both as a parent and as the founder and CEO of Snapchat, a tech platform that proudly serves tens of millions of young Americans every day.
Snapchat is a visual communications platform for people 13 and older — and we work hard to detect and remove accounts that violate our age policy.
In our efforts to prevent underage use, we have grappled with the same challenges to age verification that virtually every platform must confront. Privacy concerns are legitimate; verification systems require the collection of large amounts of personal information, create cybersecurity risks and invite the potential for misuse of sensitive data. Technical problems exist, too, from fake IDs to flawed algorithms.
Despite these issues, the demand for better online age verification is growing. After all, in the physical world, society has established age-based restrictions for certain activities, including driving, voting and watching certain films. These guardrails exist for good reason, and reflect our understanding of developmental stages and the capacity for responsible decision-making. There’s no reason why the digital world should operate by entirely different rules.
In fact, some argue that the digital environment warrants even more careful age-appropriate boundaries. When technology makes the entire world accessible from a teenager’s pocket, the implications for safety, cognitive development and emotional well-being are significant. Young people deserve support as they navigate online spaces.
Parents naturally want to protect their children online, just as they do offline. Federal laws like the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act already require platforms to limit data collection for users under 13. Platforms have implemented age-gating for certain features and settings. But these rules only work if we can reliably tell how old users are — and the current system of self-reporting is far from perfect.
No system will be flawless. The key is maximizing benefits while reducing downsides. That’s why I believe initial age verification should happen at the operating system or app store level. In addition to the safeguards already put in place by many app developers, it’s the best way to address the concerns many have about age verification while also meeting the broad and growing demand to find best-practice-level approaches to enable it.
We’re starting to see progress in this direction. Recently, Apple announced new features that will allow parents to set up their child’s account and share the child’s age range with app developers. This is a welcome step toward the kind of OS-level verification we need. However, this approach still leaves gaps.
For this solution to truly work, we need comprehensive adoption across all major device-makers and app stores. Legislation that supports this concept has already passed in the State of Utah and been introduced in 16 other states. Bills by Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Rep. John James (R-Mich.) are also expected to be introduced in the U.S. Senate and House today.
Operating systems and app stores already play a crucial role in the digital ecosystem. They set the standards requiring certain security protocols and removing inappropriate and potentially harmful apps to help protect people. They sit at the gateway of the digital world. This position gives them capabilities that individual app developers simply don’t have.
The benefits of this approach are compelling, particularly for families:
It’s simpler. Parents already share their teen’s age when purchasing and setting up a device. Rather than forcing families to navigate repetitive verification processes across dozens of apps, the OS can serve as a secure “one-stop shop” where verification happens once. This makes it much more likely that families will actually use these protections.
It’s consistent. Teens use dozens of apps every week, including apps offered by the app stores. A device-level approach gives parents peace of mind knowing that age verification protections will be applied consistently across any app their teen downloads.
It’s more private and secure. Centralizing age verification limits how often personal information must be shared, significantly reducing privacy risks, identity theft opportunities and data-breach exposure.
It’s trustworthy. OS and app store developers already have sophisticated systems, such as digital wallets, for managing user data. They can share age information with app developers without revealing personal details. Parents can be confident that sensitive information is handled responsibly by companies they already trust with established privacy-protective frameworks.
This approach isn’t about being overly restrictive or surveilling teens. It’s about making sure their online experiences are age-appropriate while protecting their privacy and freedom to explore.
Digital platforms offer young people incredible opportunities for creativity, learning and connection. On Snapchat, we’ve seen firsthand how technology can empower and uplift young voices, with the right protections and safeguards.
Age verification at the app store or OS level represents a balanced approach that preserves the benefits of the internet while helping to mitigate its risks. We need all major platforms to recognize their important role in the digital world to create a more robust and sensible age verification solution, with legislative action to ensure these solutions become universal. Only then can we better protect young users and support their parents, while ensuring digital spaces remain open, vibrant and accessible.
Evan Spiegel is the chief executive officer of Snapchat.