Cinemas are set to introduce a digital ID app to prevent children gaining access to adult films containing sex and violence.
The app would confirm the age of young people to box office staff, and will be accepted from Monday at UK Cinema Association outlets.
The app has been designed by digital ID provider Yoti and will base the user's age on a previously uploaded document, such as a passport.
So far around 3,000,000 people in Britain have downloaded the Yoti app, which is most popular among 16 to 25-year-olds.
The technology is part of a wider move towards digital IDs relating to age-restricted products and will help cinemas to meet their legal requirements to prevent children accessing films containing inappropriate content.
Yoti’s AI facial photo checks that can estimate age is being trialled by the Home Office, as are its apps at supermarket checkouts to prevent children buying alcohol.
Ministers could consider amending the law to allow digital age checks for alcohol sales if those trials prove successful. Currently physical ID is required.
The digital ID app can also be used to access a range of products from Calpol to energy drinks in 30,000 convenience stores and has been approved by the Government to allow young people to withdraw from child trust funds once they turn 18.
While critics have voiced concerns that such technology could lead to a stealth introduction of national digital ID cards, supporters of the scheme say it will provide children with an easier way of proving their age without revealing any other personal information.
Yoti is also being used by social media platform Yubo as part of a range of measures to keep under-13s from accessing their site.
The digital ID is created by the individual uploading a document, such as a passport, and then taking a live picture in order to confirm their identity. A government-grade database, which cannot be accessed by Yoti, stores the information, which can be erased at any time by the user.
The digital ID app shows a verified photo and states whether the user is aged over 12, 15 or 18.
Phil Clapp, chief executive of the UK Cinema Association said in The Telegraph : “For many wanting to get into a 15 or even 18 certificate film, proving their age – without a passport or driving licence to hand – can be incredibly difficult and an understandable source of frustration should they be turned away from the cinema.
“This new partnership offers a straightforward and modern way to reduce the likelihood of that happening. Of the 165 million to 170 million admissions per year UK cinemas were seeing pre-pandemic, around 30 per cent fall within the 15 to 24-year-old bracket, and around 20 per cent within the nine to 14-year-old age group.
"Since cinemas reopened last May those proportions are likely to be even higher.”
John Abbott, chief business officer for Yoti, said the approach was less intrusive than physical ID documents which could include address and other personal information whereas the digital ID simply proved age.
