Age Gate

The VerifyHuman Age Gate prevents underage visitors from accessing restricted content on your Shopify store. It displays a full-screen overlay requiring visitors to confirm their age before they can view products or pages.

How It Works

When a visitor lands on a page protected by the age gate:

A full-screen overlay blocks the page content.
The visitor enters their date of birth (MM/DD/YYYY format).
If the visitor is below the minimum age, they are redirected to a configurable URL (default: google.com).
If the visitor meets the age requirement:
- With selfie required: The visitor proceeds to a camera step where they take a selfie for AI-based age estimation via the VerifyHuman API.
- Without selfie (attestation only): The visitor's self-declared age is accepted and recorded as an attestation. No API key is required for this mode.
On success, the overlay is removed and the visitor can browse freely for the configured session duration.

Session Persistence

Guest Mode (default): Verification is stored in the browser's sessionStorage with a configurable expiration (default: 24 hours). Closing the browser tab clears the verification.
Profile Mode: Reserved for future use. When selected, the age gate currently behaves the same as Guest Mode. A future update will add persistent verification tied to customer accounts.

Rate Limiting

The age gate enforces a maximum of 5 verification attempts per hour. If a visitor exceeds this limit, they see a "Too Many Attempts" message and must wait before trying again.

Trigger Modes

The age gate supports four trigger modes, configured in the Shopify Theme Editor:

All Pages (Entire Store)

Every page on the store shows the age gate overlay.

Setting value: all_pages
Best for: Stores that exclusively sell age-restricted products (e.g., an online liquor store).

Product Tag

The age gate appears only on product pages where the product has a specific tag.

Setting value: product_tag
Default tag: age-restricted
Tag matching: Case-insensitive. A product tagged Age-Restricted or AGE-RESTRICTED will match.
Best for: Stores with a mix of regular and age-restricted products.

Collection Tag

The age gate appears on collection pages and product pages when the product belongs to a tagged collection.

Setting value: collection_tag
Default tag: age-restricted
How it works: The Liquid template checks collection.all_tags on collection pages, and iterates through product.collections on product pages to find any collection with the matching tag.
Best for: Organizing age-restricted products by collection rather than individual tags.

Specific Page Handles

The age gate appears only on pages whose handles match a comma-separated list.

Setting value: specific_pages
Configuration: Enter page handles separated by commas (e.g., about-us, contact).
How it works: Compares the current page.handle or template.name against the list.
Best for: Restricting specific informational pages.

Theme Editor Settings

All settings are configured in the Shopify Theme Editor under VerifyHuman - Age Gate (an app embed block targeting the <head>).

Setting	Type	Default	Description
Enable Age Verification	Checkbox	`true`	Master toggle for the age gate
Apply Age Gate To	Select	`all_pages`	Trigger mode (see above)
Product Tag	Text	`age-restricted`	Tag to match in Product Tag mode
Collection Tag	Text	`age-restricted`	Tag to match in Collection Tag mode
Page Handles	Text	(empty)	Comma-separated handles for Specific Pages mode
Minimum Age	Range	`18`	Minimum age (18-25)
Use Case	Select	`adult`	Industry context: Adult, Tobacco, Alcohol, Cannabis, Gambling
Require Selfie Verification	Checkbox	`true`	Whether to require a selfie or accept attestation only
Session Mode	Select	`guest`	Guest (session-based) or Profile (customer account)
Redirect URL for Underage Users	URL	`https://www.google.com`	Where underage visitors are sent
Session Duration	Select	`24` hours	How long verification is remembered (1h to 1 week)
Custom Message	Text	(empty)	Optional message on the verification overlay
Logo	Image Picker	(empty)	Optional logo on the verification overlay

Dashboard Settings (Advanced Mode)

When using the VerifyHuman dashboard in Advanced Mode, additional age gate settings are available:

Setting	Default	Description
Age Gate Enabled	`false`	Enable/disable age verification
Verification Mode	`guest`	Guest or Profile mode
Minimum Age	`18`	Required minimum age
Use Case	`adult`	Industry context for the age check
Scope	`store`	Entire Store, Specific Collections, or Specific Products
Session Duration (Hours)	`24`	Session validity in guest mode
Require Selfie	`true`	Whether selfie verification is required
Underage Redirect URL	(empty)	Custom redirect for underage users
Custom Message	(empty)	Overlay custom text
Logo URL	(empty)	Overlay custom logo

Verification Modes

Attestation Only (No Selfie)

When Require Selfie Verification is disabled:

The visitor enters their date of birth.
If they meet the minimum age, the server records an attestation.
No VerifyHuman API key is required.
The API response marks the verification as mode: "attestation".
Suitable for basic compliance where self-declaration is acceptable.

Selfie Verification

When Require Selfie Verification is enabled:

After entering their date of birth, the visitor is prompted to take a selfie.
The selfie is sent to the VerifyHuman API (/api/v1/verify-age/verify) along with the date of birth.
The API uses AI to estimate the person's age from the selfie.
A VerifyHuman API key is required.
Provides stronger assurance for compliance-sensitive industries.

UX Flow

Step 1: Date of Birth Entry

Full-screen dark overlay with a branded card.
Visitor enters date of birth in MM/DD/YYYY format.
Auto-formatting inserts slashes as the user types.
Validation checks: valid month (1-12), valid day (1-31), valid year, and real calendar date (rejects Feb 30, etc.).
If DOB indicates underage, the visitor is immediately redirected.

Step 2: Selfie (if required)

Camera opens with front-facing mode.
Visitor captures a photo.
Can retake the photo before submitting.
Submits the selfie along with date of birth to the API.
Shows a loading spinner during verification.

Step 3: Result

Success: A green confirmation message appears for 1.5 seconds, then the overlay is removed.
Failure: An error message is displayed with the option to retry.
Blocked: If max attempts are reached, a message directs the visitor to try later or contact support.

API Endpoints

POST `/api/verify-age`

Called by the age gate widget to perform verification.

Request body:

{
  "date_of_birth": "1990-01-15",
  "selfie_b64": "<base64 image data>",
  "min_age": 18,
  "use_case": "adult",
  "mode": "guest",
  "customer_id": "optional-customer-id",
  "attestation_only": false
}

Response (success):

{
  "success": true,
  "verified": true,
  "estimated_age": 28,
  "verification_id": "vh_abc123"
}

Response (attestation mode):

{
  "success": true,
  "verified": true,
  "mode": "attestation",
  "verification_id": 42,
  "message": "Age attestation accepted (selfie verification not required)"
}

Testing the Age Gate

Enable the age gate in the Shopify Theme Editor (Customize > App Embeds > VerifyHuman - Age Gate).
Set the trigger mode to match your scenario (e.g., Product Tag mode with a test product tagged age-restricted).
Visit the page in an incognito/private browser window to ensure no cached session exists.
Enter a valid date of birth above the minimum age and verify the overlay is removed.
Enter an underage date of birth and verify you are redirected to the configured URL.
Test selfie mode (if enabled) by allowing camera access and completing the photo capture flow.
Test session persistence by refreshing the page after successful verification to confirm the overlay does not reappear.
Test max attempts by failing verification 5 times and confirming the blocked state appears.

Test Mode

When test mode is enabled for your shop domain, all API responses include a _test_mode: true flag. This allows you to test the full flow without affecting production verification counts. See Reviewer Test Mode for details.