Google open-sources ZKP libraries for age verification
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- Google open sourced its Zero-Knowledge Proof (ZKP) libraries, fulfilling a prior promise and extending its partnership with Sparkasse to support EU age assurance.
- Zero-Knowledge Proof technology lets a user prove a specific fact — such as being over 18 — to a website without sharing any other personal data.
- Google says the release creates four beneficiary groups: users get a more private web, businesses get a turnkey privacy tool, developers get a free codebase, and researchers get a performant ZKP implementation.
- The EU's eIDAS Regulation, taking effect in 2026, encourages Member States to integrate privacy-enhancing technologies like ZKP into the European Digital Identity Wallet (EUDI Wallet).
- The ZKP codebase is hosted publicly at github.com/google/longfellow-zk for developers to build privacy-focused applications and digital ID solutions.
Why it matters: EU Member States working toward the 2026 eIDAS deadline now have a free, open-source tool to embed privacy-preserving age checks into their national digital identity wallets, with **Google** releasing the codebase rather than guarding it. That move shifts ZKP from Google's internal cryptographic stack to a ready building block any developer can adopt, directly serving the EU's mandate to make age verification both required and privacy-respecting.
