Greece will soon have a new age verification app called “Kids Wallet,” as part of a larger push towards the EU to legislate more on protecting minors from online addiction. The move takes place as the Commission also gets ready to roll out European digital identity wallets featuring age verification.
Greece will soon launch a “Kids Wallet” app to verify users’ ages and help combat online addiction among minors. The app will use the Greek digital ID of a parent or guardian, validated by TaxisNet, the country’s national authorisation service. The parent can then select the child’s profile on the Digital ID app, which will validate the child’s identity using data from the Greek civil registry. The application will determine the child’s age based on their date of birth. Third-party applications could retrieve the child’s age via API with parental consent, according to the government.
The KidsWallet App, acting as an age verification tool, would provide parental tools in Greece. A parent could select which apps their child could use, set time limits and block specific apps, according to the government’s strategy.
The Greek government indicated that the KidsApp would be potentially available nationwide within one month, but they would also advocate for an EU approach.
Protecting minors online is on top of the agenda under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), with guidelines on protecting minors online expected to be published soon. While the legislation does not mention age verification, the European Digital Identity Wallets (eIDAS) foresee this. An EU-wide age verification app is expected to be rolled out soon and could become “the golden standard” to verify age. However, their use by platforms and users will remain voluntary and only become operational in member states in 2026.
Elsewhere, several tech companies have introduced new features—such as Meta, which rolled out “Teen Accounts” in the EU last year; Apple, which announced new features including “age assurance”, which would allow for parents to select an age range and not share their children’s birth date with third-party apps. The two companies have taken different approaches to minor protection: Meta has advocated for an EU-wide regulation for age verification, and Apple has used age assurance in its recent rollouts.
But there seems to be a consensus between lawmakers and online platforms that the era of self-declaration of age is dead and ineffective; a form of verifying age is essential for protecting minors from harmful and addictive content online.
The Greek government’s KidsApp is a part of a wider push towards the EU to introduce stricter protection for minors. They call for a “digital majority age” at 15, which would require explicit parental consent for social media use by minors below the age. They also want mandatory built-in parental control software on all devices with internet access sold in the EU. They also propose mandatory built-in parental control software on all internet-enabled devices sold in the EU. Additionally, they are advocating for the adoption of “digital rights” for children at the EU level. These rights would include the right not to be tracked, meaningful personalisation, the ability to know one’s digital identity, and fairness by design.
Greece supports the Commission’s efforts to protect minors but believes the current approach is a patchwork of different EU regulations. The Commission is expected to prioritise minor protection when it begins working on digital fairness. The legislation will address addictive designs and dark patterns online, likely focusing on their impact on minors’ mental health.
A legislation on digital fairness is likely to be proposed in 2026. Greece will be presiding over the Council of the EU in 2027, when the legislation would be under negotiation by co-legislators.
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