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Identity checks are shifting from one-off document scans toward layered, risk-based verification. In 2025, NIST updated its digital-identity guidance to address fraud, forged media and passkeys, while public initiatives in the UK and EU highlighted demand for privacy-conscious digital identity. For consumers, that can mean more checks—but also more options to prove a specific fact, such as age, without handing over a full identity document.
Why am I being asked to verify my identity again?
Identity proofing and authentication answer different questions. Proofing checks who you are, often during enrollment or when an account needs stronger verification. Authentication checks whether the person trying to sign in or make a change controls an enrolled account or credential. A company may ask for verification again when a transaction or account change carries more risk, or when it cannot confidently connect the current session to the previously verified person.
A layered approach does not mean every user should face every check. A service can apply stronger checks to higher-risk events—such as account recovery, payment-detail changes or a high-value transaction—while avoiding unnecessary collection during routine use. A failed match can also trigger a repeat check even when the user is legitimate, which is why a usable escalation and recovery route matters.
What changed in identity verification technology in 2025?
NIST addressed fraud, forged media and passkeys
NIST finalized Special Publication 800-63 Revision 4 in 2025. The guidance covers identity proofing, enrollment, authenticators, federation and related assertions. It expands fraud-related requirements for proofing, adds controls for injection attacks and forged media such as deepfakes, recommends continuous evaluation metrics, and incorporates syncable authenticators such as synced passkeys.
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The shift is toward evaluating the whole identity journey rather than relying on a single document image or face comparison. For higher-risk checks, controls may need to consider whether the media is genuine and live, whether a signal is being injected or replayed, and how the system handles uncertainty. That does not establish that any particular vendor or product will reliably stop a deepfake.
Passkeys are gaining enterprise adoption
FIDO Alliance research published February 26, 2025, found that most surveyed enterprises had deployed or were deploying passkeys for workforce sign-ins. Respondents reported benefits involving user experience, security, cost reduction, productivity and digital-transformation goals. Organizations without passkey projects cited complexity, cost and lack of implementation clarity.
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Passkeys authenticate access; they do not prove that a new customer is the person named on an identity document. They can reduce reliance on passwords and can be phishing-resistant, but they are not a replacement for every identity-proofing check. Whether a passkey is safer or more convenient than another method depends on the task, the device and account recovery arrangements.
How do deepfakes and injection attacks affect facial verification?
A facial check may compare a live capture with a reference image, but the system must also determine whether the input is trustworthy. A convincing fake image or video can try to fool a face-matching step. An injection attack attempts to feed manipulated or substituted media into the verification process rather than presenting an ordinary live capture. Replay attacks similarly reuse previously captured material.
These threats explain why face matching alone is not a complete defense. NIST Revision 4 adds controls aimed at injection attacks and forged media, including deepfakes. Businesses should treat liveness and injection defenses as parts of a risk-based system, not as a guarantee that fraud is impossible. A person who fails a face check also needs a route to human review or another accessible verification method.
What do the fraud and trust figures show?
Experian’s 2025 U.S. Identity and Fraud Report, based on responses from more than 2,000 consumers and 200 businesses, found that 72% of surveyed business leaders expected AI-generated fraud and deepfakes to be major challenges by 2026. In the same report, 57% of surveyed consumers said they worried about doing things online. These are survey responses from U.S. participants, not measured rates of fraud across all businesses or consumers.
The figures point to concern about trust and emerging threats; they do not show how often deepfakes succeed or which verification product performs best. The evidence here does not establish independent test results for any vendor.
How large is the UK digital-identity market?
The UK Office for Digital Identities and Attributes and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology reported 266 firms operating in the UK digital-identity market and £2.1 billion in sector revenue during 2023/24 in their 2025 analysis. Those figures describe the sector’s scale, not the quality or security of any individual service.
- 69% of providers offered identity or attribute verification, and 51% supported digital-identity creation and management.
- Reported service areas included document verification (54%), identity management (50%) and biometrics (45%).
- Providers served financial and professional services (85%), health and public services (58%), and technology (57%).
- OfDIA/DSIT reported that 44% of surveyed UK consumers had used a digital-identity service. Among surveyed users, privacy and security each mattered to 79%.
These percentages describe the provider and consumer measures reported in the 2025 UK analysis; they are not shares of all UK businesses or proof that every service has the same capabilities.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What does the European digital-identity wallet mean for age checks?
On July 14, 2025, the European Commission released a white-label age-verification blueprint. Its intended design lets a person prove they meet an age threshold without sharing additional personal details, and is intended to interoperate with European Digital Identity Wallets planned for rollout by the end of 2026. This is a blueprint and pilot direction, not evidence that every EU website or service currently accepts a wallet.
For an age-restricted service, the privacy advantage is that the site may need to learn only whether a user is over the required threshold, rather than receive a full identity document or date of birth. Whether that option is available depends on implementation and acceptance by the service; consumers should not assume it is already available everywhere.
A separate EU measure, Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/848, was adopted May 6, 2025. It sets registration rules for parties relying on European Digital Identity Wallets, including information about authentication, contact details, intended use and data requested from users.
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What should a business do when updating identity checks?
- Map the identity journey by risk. Review onboarding, account recovery, payment changes, high-value transactions and age-restricted access separately. Decide which events justify stronger proof and where a lighter check is sufficient.
- Use document and biometric checks selectively. Collect them only where justified by the risk. For higher-risk flows, assess liveness and defenses against injection attacks and replay, rather than relying on a face match alone.
- Offer phishing-resistant sign-in options. Consider passkeys and, where appropriate, FIDO2 hardware keys. Keep recovery and human escalation available for false rejects, lost devices and users who cannot use a particular method.
- Control identity data throughout its lifecycle. Record the provenance of each attribute, why it is collected, how long it is retained, how consent is handled and how deletion works. If the service needs only an age claim, design for selective disclosure instead of collecting a full identity document where possible.
- Test before broad rollout. Check accessibility, performance across demographic groups, completion and failure handling. Set up a way to monitor results over time; NIST Revision 4 recommends continuous evaluation metrics.
What should consumers ask before completing a check?
- Exactly what information is collected, where is it stored, and how long is it kept?
- Can I prove an age or another attribute without disclosing my full identity document?
- Can I use a passkey or hardware security key instead of an SMS code?
- What happens if facial matching fails, or I cannot access my device?
- Which independent standards, certifications or government trust frameworks does the provider follow?
These questions help distinguish a narrow verification request from a broader data collection process. A provider’s answer should make clear what is required for the check and what happens to the information afterward.
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