AwarenessWork, school & institutions
ID & age-check mandates
Right-to-work, right-to-rent and age checks - each a fresh copy of your ID.
Understand it
More and more everyday steps now demand proof of identity or age - renting, starting a job, and, under the Online Safety Act, viewing some sites. Each check can create another copy of your passport or a face scan, held by an estate agent, a gig platform or a verification company, widening where your most sensitive documents sit.
How to spot it
Every request to upload or scan your passport, driving licence or face is a new copy being made somewhere.
Close the gap
- Ask whether a certified “verify once” service can be used instead of handing over documents.
- Prefer age checks that confirm only “over 18”, not your full identity, where offered.
- Don’t send ID over email or chat; use the official, secure upload only.
- Ask how long the copy is kept, and request deletion once the check is done.
What to do about it
This is data other organisations collect about you, and you often can't simply opt out. What you can do is use your UK data rights to see what they hold and object to how it's used.