Yoti

Yoti: frequently asked questions

How accurate is Yoti's age estimation?

It leads NIST's evaluation, which is the only comparison that counts here. In NIST's Face Analysis Technology Evaluation for age estimation, the yoti-002 algorithm placed first in the Child Online Safety category with a mean absolute error of 1.876 years for ages 13 to 16 and a true positive rate of 0.569, both rank one. For context, IDEMIA placed second at 2.169 and the earlier yoti-001 third at 2.495. Yoti improved from 2.49 to 1.88 within six months. NIST measured Yoti's mean absolute error at 1.4 years for ages 6 to 17 on mugshot images. Trade reporting from the January 2026 refresh puts the current yoti-004 generation first for error by interocular distance at 1.71 years on a set of 917,582 US mugshots, though we have not read the NIST report directly to confirm that.

Why do Yoti's own accuracy figures differ from NIST's?

Because they test different images, and Yoti says so itself. Yoti's July 2025 white paper reports mean absolute error of 1.1 years for ages 13 to 17 and 1.3 for ages 6 to 12, against roughly 120,000 anonymised images verified against government-issued age data. NIST reports higher errors because it uses institutional images at 240x300 to 480x600 pixels, while Yoti tests 720x800 mobile selfies. Comparing the two sets head to head is an error. One further caveat that must not be dropped: Yoti's white paper states on page 2 that the model described is its latest development model and is not the model currently in production.

How much does Yoti cost?

Yoti publishes no pricing of any kind. There is no rate card, no per-check price, no minimum commitment and no public tier. The Yoti Digital ID app is free to individuals, but that is consumer-side and not a business free tier. Revenue, valuation and total funding are also undisclosed; the figures on data aggregators are mutually inconsistent, in one case pairing a 210 million dollar raise with a 42 million dollar valuation, and should be ignored. If you need financials, Yoti Ltd files accounts at Companies House under company number 08998951.

Is Yoti approved by Ofcom under the UK Online Safety Act?

No, and no vendor is. This is the most common error in age assurance coverage. Ofcom does not approve or certify individual vendors; it publishes a non-exhaustive list of method categories capable of being highly effective, which includes facial age estimation, digital ID wallets, photo-ID matching, open banking, mobile network operator checks, credit card checks and email-based age estimation. A method must meet all four Ofcom criteria: technical accuracy, resistance to circumvention, reliability and fairness. The duty to apply highly effective age assurance to the riskiest content came into force on 25 July 2025. The accurate phrasing is that Yoti supplies methods Ofcom lists as capable of being highly effective.

Is Yoti certified under the UK digital identity trust framework?

Yes, and more thoroughly than most. Yoti Ltd appears on the UK statutory Digital Verification Services register as provider 38 with four certified services: Yoti IDV, Digital ID Connect, Yoti Digital ID and Post Office EasyID, with the entry last updated 19 December 2025. Yoti is certified as an Orchestration Service Provider following audit by the Kantara Initiative, and describes itself as Gamma-certified including the Digital ID Connect ID Checker app. Note that the older digital-identity-services-register.service.gov.uk address now redirects to access-dvs-register.service.gov.uk.

What liveness and security testing has Yoti passed?

Yoti's proprietary passive liveness product MyFace holds iBeta ISO/IEC 30107-3 Level 1 and Level 2 conformance with a 100 percent attack detection rate, and Yoti states it was first in the world to meet iBeta's highest liveness standard. MyFace was retested in 2025 to confirm continued conformance, which addresses the staleness problem several competitors have. Yoti also holds ISO/IEC 27001:2013 for its identity verification services, and its immediate image-deletion practice for age estimation is externally reviewed under its SOC 2 and PAS 1296 assessment. The National Vulnerability Database returns zero CVEs for Yoti and there is no CISA KEV entry or breach disclosure.

What age assurance methods does Yoti actually offer?

A wider portfolio than facial age estimation alone. Globally it offers facial age estimation, the Digital ID app, ID document verification, age tokens and credit card checks. Regionally it adds mobile phone checks, database checks and email address checks. Country-specific methods include Swedish BankID, Finland's FTN, Denmark's MitID, France's double anonymity scheme, US Social Security Number checks and Louisiana's LA Wallet. An on-device lightweight model runs without internet connectivity, which suits self-checkouts, gambling terminals and vending machines. Yoti reports passing one billion age checks in November 2025 and throughput scaling beyond 25 million checks per day.

What are the best Yoti alternatives?

For age estimation specifically, IDEMIA and Innovatrics are the credible NIST-benchmarked alternatives, with Incode and Unissey also submitting. For general identity verification rather than age assurance, Sumsub, Persona, Jumio and Entrust IDV are the comparison set, though none of them leads NIST's age evaluation. If your requirement is UK Online Safety Act compliance, check the Digital Verification Services register rather than vendor marketing, since certification status varies more than the marketing suggests.