Blog
Age assurance, market by market
Rules move by jurisdiction and by catalog. We track what changed, who it applies to, and what it takes to stay compliant at checkout.
-
Oct 2, 2026 · E-commerce
Age verification for small businesses: the exemption is in the wrong law
EU law exempts small firms from its child-protection duty for platforms. The age-of-sale rules a small online shop actually sells under have no size threshold.
-
Oct 2, 2026 · Tobacco
Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026: nicotine pouches get an age of sale
Until 29 October 2026 no UK statute sets an age of sale for nicotine pouches. The Tobacco and Vapes Act makes them 18+ and bans their vending machines.
-
Sep 22, 2026 · Dating apps
Fake profiles and banned users on dating apps: Australia
Australia's scam law names dating apps only to exclude them. The duty that does apply is about keeping banned users out, and it says nothing about how.
-
Sep 12, 2026 · Dating apps
Fake profiles and banned users on dating apps: EU
EU law tells a dating platform how to ban a user fairly, and says nothing about recognising them when they return. That second step is a GDPR question.
-
Sep 4, 2026 · Dating apps
Fake profiles and banned users on dating apps: USA
US law does not make a dating app verify who is behind an account. It regulates what follows a ban, and Colorado now asks how many banned users came back.
-
Aug 27, 2026 · Dating apps
Fake profiles and banned users on dating apps: UK
Ofcom's rules for dating apps act on accounts. The harm it describes comes from people who open a new one, and the one measure aimed at that is a draft.
-
Aug 20, 2026 · Tobacco
Age verification for vape stores: Australia
Australia did not tighten the rules for vape stores. It removed them. The age check survives behind a pharmacy counter, one condition of a Schedule 3 supply.
-
Aug 20, 2026 · Comparisons
Six seconds or nine minutes: what verification speed claims measure
Sumsub publishes a twenty-second average and a customer case study reporting nine minutes. Both are true, and the gap between them is the whole subject.
-
Aug 19, 2026 · Tobacco
Age verification for vape stores: EU
Article 20 of the Tobacco Products Directive regulates a vape across eleven paragraphs and never states an age of sale. That was left to national law.
-
Aug 18, 2026 · Tobacco
Age verification for vape stores: USA
FDA has authorised 45 e-cigarettes. The federal age rule for a vape store is short, precise, and decides whether stock may sit on an open shelf.
-
Aug 17, 2026 · Tobacco
Age verification for vape stores: UK
The vape age-of-sale offence starting on 29 October 2026 never mentions nicotine. A zero-nicotine shortfill sits outside today's rule and inside that one.
-
Aug 6, 2026 · Comparisons
Best WooCommerce age verification plugins compared
The most-installed age verification plugin has not shipped an update since October 2025. On WordPress that is a security question, not housekeeping.
-
Aug 5, 2026 · Comparisons
Best age verification services: pricing and features compared
Most age verification vendors publish no price. Among those that do, one 18+ check by ID ranges from $0.30 to $1.89, and the spread is not about quality.
-
Aug 5, 2026 · Comparisons
Best Shopify age verification apps: popups, ID checks and delivery verification
The Shopify age verification category is two categories with a tenfold price gap, and the cheap one is the popular one. Here is what each actually proves.
-
Aug 4, 2026 · Alcohol
Online alcohol age verification laws and penalties: UK
In law an online alcohol sale happens in the warehouse, not at the checkout or the doorstep. Every duty in the regime hangs off that one section.
-
Aug 3, 2026 · E-commerce
What the Online Safety Act expects from age-restricted storefronts
The OSA raised the bar from self-declared age to evidence you can show a regulator. Here is what that means for a UK checkout.
-
Aug 2, 2026 · Alcohol
Online alcohol age verification laws and penalties: EU
The EU wrote an age verification rule into law for tobacco and none for alcohol. What governs cross-border alcohol e-commerce is a tax directive.
-
Jul 28, 2026 · Dating apps
Age verification requirements for dating apps: Australia
Australia penalises the ID check itself. Collecting government ID for age assurance is a civil penalty unless a reasonable alternative is offered.
-
Jul 26, 2026 · Tobacco
Online tobacco age verification laws and penalties: Australia
Australia's federal tobacco statute sets no minimum age at all. For an online seller the binding offence is not the sale — it is the product page.
-
Jul 25, 2026 · Tobacco
Online tobacco age verification laws and penalties: EU
The EU has required an age verification system for cross-border tobacco sales since 2016. Its own review found 80% of retailers were using self-declaration.
-
Jul 24, 2026 · Tobacco
Online tobacco age verification laws and penalties: USA
Federal rules treat online tobacco sale as an exception to a face-to-face requirement, then impose two age checks on it — one at order, one at the door.
-
Jul 20, 2026 · Alcohol
Online alcohol age verification laws and penalties: Australia
No Commonwealth law sets an alcohol age of sale. NSW filled the gap with the most prescriptive online delivery regime of any jurisdiction in this series.
-
Jul 19, 2026 · Dating apps
Age verification requirements for dating apps: EU
No EU law sets an age check rule for dating apps. There is one horizontal duty, a national patchwork aimed elsewhere, and a jurisdiction rule that just moved.
-
Jul 17, 2026 · Dating apps
Age verification requirements for dating apps: UK
Under the Online Safety Act the age check is not a feature on the sign-up screen. It decides which half of the Act applies to the service at all.
-
Jul 14, 2026 · Alcohol
Online alcohol age verification laws and penalties: USA
No federal law makes it an offence to sell alcohol to a minor. The federal drinking age is a highway funding condition aimed at states, not at sellers.
-
Jul 7, 2026 · Tobacco
Online tobacco age verification laws and penalties: UK
No UK law tells an online tobacco seller to check age. Two offences commence in 2026 and 2027, and proving the check is the only defence to either.
-
Jul 6, 2026 · Dating apps
Age verification requirements for dating apps: USA
No federal law makes a dating app check age, and no state law names dating apps. The rule that will bind them is being written for app stores instead.