What you need to know
- Some UK cinemas will allow people to use a digital ID to prove their age when watching movies.
- Two apps are capable of creating tamper-proof digital ID cards that will be accepted at select cinemas.
Movie-goers in the United Kingdom can now use their iPhone to prove their age when visiting select cinemas. The news means that people will be able to prove that they are over the required age when trying to watch movies in cinemas including Cineworld, Odeon, Showcase Cinemas, and Vue.
Participating members of the UK Cinema Association have agreed that people aged 13 and older can now prove their age using a new digital ID that can be created via the Yoti and Post Office EasyID apps according to a new NFCW report.
People creating their age verification ID will need to upload a government=approved form of ID such as a passport or driver's license.
At the cinema, users can then opt to show their 'age card' containing only their authenticated photo and the verification that they are aged over the age limit for the film they wish to purchase tickets for.
Those concerned of people creating fake digital ID cards need not be, there are two different security measures that have been put in place to ensure that isn't possible. "There is a hologram on the digital ID card that moves when the phone is tilted — for anti-spoofing purposes," Yoti explains in its documentation. "For further confidence, the cinema staff can scan the QR code on the card with a freely available web app to prove it's valid," it goes on to say.
For those in the UK fortunate enough to be asked to confirm their age, this could be the best iPhone feature yet. No more arguing with a ticket attendant that you're just really lucky and have great skin!
