Fixing High-Friction Age Checks with ZKP-Based Verification for WooCommerce

The Problem

Online retailers selling alcohol must verify that buyers are legally old enough to purchase age-restricted goods. Traditional approaches—such as document uploads or manual ID checks—introduced heavy friction at checkout, increasing abandonment and frustrating customers. These flows also forced merchants to handle sensitive personal data, creating costly compliance obligations and exposing them to storage and security liabilities. The business needed a frictionless, privacy-first verification method that met regulatory requirements without collecting unnecessary personal information.

The Solution

One of our digital squads built a WordPress/WooCommerce plugin that integrates zero-knowledge proof (ZKP) age verification directly into checkout. Customers obtain an accredited age attestation within their digital wallet—or use a one-click fallback attestation if they don’t have a wallet. At checkout, the plugin requests a ZKP confirming the user is “over X years old” without revealing their date of birth or any other PII.

The solution included seamless UI injection into the existing checkout flow, a fallback attestation path to avoid friction, and a merchant dashboard showing verification events without storing sensitive data. Audit logs and revocation support ensured compliance, while the retailer retained zero customer PII related to age verification.

The Impact

12–18% increase in conversion compared with document-upload age checks
Reduced checkout abandonment for age-gated products
~60% fewer support queries related to failed or confusing age checks
Lower compliance liability through minimal PII storage and auditable verification records