< h 2 > Scene Hook </ h 2 >< p >Last Wednesday afternoon , I was tweaking a landing page in a coffee shop when an email popped up —a S aaS platform I use said they 'd need to run age verification for my users due to new regulations . My heart sank : did this mean my customers had to upload their IDs ? I run a tiny shop selling Not ion templates , what business do I have collecting people 's IDs ? I 've been stuck here too — last year , while building a consulting site for a client , the host almost forced me to add an age popup , and I had zero idea how to handle it . If you have a website , a landing page , or even just a payment link , this will catch up to you eventually .</ p >< h 2 > What It Is + Who Is Using </ h 2 >< p >The core idea is simple : < strong > collect less data , don 't store data , and if you store it , encrypt it </ strong >. You don 't need to be technical ; it 's just three actions . My friend Chen Xia oman , who runs an indie site selling handmade earrings in X iam en , was required to add verification to her Shopify store when the UK age verification laws took effect last year . Instead of a hardcore solution like uploading IDs , she used a combo : an age popup self -de claration + zero storage of verification data + replacing Google Analytics with a privacy -friendly analytics tool . She passed compliance with zero customer complaints . She told me : " I just don 't want to touch sensitive customer info . Touch ing it means taking on liability ."</ p >< h 2 > Rep licate Cost Today </ h 2 >< p > Money : $ 0 . Time : 10 - 30 minutes . Technical barrier : If you can fill out a form , you can do this — zero code . First step : Open your website backend and find the option to " delete customer birthday / ID fields ." The specific three steps — < strong > Step One </ strong >: Delete all non - essential personal info fields in your forms , especially birthday , age , and ID number . If a simple yes /no age popup works , don 't ask for proof . < strong > Step Two </ strong >: Change your site 's data retention policy to the " short est retention period ." Most site builders ( Shop ify , WordPress , L ark Base ) have data retention options in settings ; choose 30 -day auto -delete . < strong > Step Three </ strong >: If you 're still using Google Analytics , switch to Pl ausible or F athom ( both have free trials ). They don 't store cookies or collect personal data , starting at $ 9 /month , but you can use Pl ausible 's 14 -day trial to get running for free . Not everyone needs these tools —if you only use We Chat Pay and don 't have an indie site , it 's fine to skip this for now .</ p >< h 2 > Advice by Stage </ h 2 >< p >If you 're just starting out with only a landing page : Delete unnecessary fields from your form first . You can do this today in 5 minutes . If you have 1 - 2 clients and a growing website : I 'd suggest adding an age declaration popup ( most site builders have plugins , just search " age verification popup ") and short ening your data retention period to the minimum . If you 're scaling and have paying users : I 'd seriously suggest doing a data audit — list all the customer data fields you currently store , ask " do I really need this ?" for each one , and then consider adopting privacy -friendly analytics tools for lower long -term compliance costs . Don 't rush ; go at your own pace and just start by deleting a few fields .</ p >