Age assurance company k-ID has launched Kai, a self-serve software development kit that lets apps give children, teenagers and adults different experiences based on age, consent and the rules of each market where they operate.
Kai is available for the web as a JavaScript and React SDK. Developers sign up without a sales call or credit card, describe who their app is for and what it does, and add the SDK. Kai then turns that information into permissions for each age group. The SDK is free for the first 10,000 monthly users of each product.
The same build can then behave differently for different users. In k-ID’s example, a chat feature might require a parent’s approval for a 12-year-old, be open to an adult and behave differently again for two users of the same age in different markets, without the developer writing separate rules for each case. Developers can check any combination in a test environment before going live.
Kai brings in age assurance at the point a feature needs it, rather than relying on a self-declared age at sign-up. It applies k-ID’s age, consent and permission decisions and shows what it applied, while certification, legal advice, privacy policies and terms remain the developer’s responsibility. When rules change, k-ID updates the logic behind Kai after testing it, and apps receive the updates automatically without new code.
k-ID says it is working with partners including AWS, Checkstep, Deloitte, FastSpring, GGWP, Helpshift, Inworld, Modulate, Persona, Privately, Tremau, Veratad and Yes2Games on the rollout. At a hackathon hosted by Google in San Francisco the previous week, 15 teams built apps on Kai across consumer AI, gaming, marketplaces, social and education.
“Every app has users of every age, whether the people who built it planned for that or not,” said Kieran Donovan, CEO of k-ID. “Kai puts age-adaptive design within reach of anyone building, with one SDK, and keeps it true as the rules change.”
Founded in 2023 and headquartered in Singapore, k-ID provides infrastructure that lets digital services establish a user’s age band and apply the matching experiences, protections and compliance requirements in more than 200 markets. Its other products include AgeKit+, AgeKeys and a compliance development kit, and the company is backed by Andreessen Horowitz and Lightspeed Venture Partners.
Sources: PR Newswire
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By the ID Tech Editorial Team
