The app will allow users to prove their age when accessing online platforms and is ‘completely anonymous’ to ensure data cannot be tracked
2-MIN READ2-MINAgence France-PressePublished: 8:15pm, 15 Apr 2026European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday that an EU-developed age-verification app was ready to go, as the bloc pushes to better protect children from online harm.
Brussels has been under pressure to come up with more stringent measures to safeguard children online as several EU capitals move ahead with plans to ban social media under a certain age.
To that end, five EU countries including France and Italy last year started testing an age-check app that von der Leyen said on Wednesday was now “technically ready”.
“This app will allow users to prove their age when accessing online platforms. Just like shops ask for proof of age for people buying alcoholic beverages,” von der Leyen told journalists in Brussels.
She said the app used the same model adopted during the Covid-19 pandemic, when Brussels developed a tool allowing people to prove they had been vaccinated as countries reopened after lockdowns.
According to von der Leyen, once the app is available, users would be able to download it from an online store, set it up with their passport or ID card and then use it to prove they are above a certain age to access some websites or platforms.
