If you are a school, an edutech platform, or a business serving kids in India, then you are already witnessing a massive shift, including AI in classrooms, digital learning apps, gaming platforms, and smart school systems are becoming the norm. However, there’s a quiet, powerful responsibility that comes with this digital leap, which is to protect children’s data.
The Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDP Act) has made it quite clear that before any data is processed for any minor, organisations must obtain verifiable parental consent.
But what does that actually mean in practice? And why has something seemingly straightforward turned into one of the biggest compliance headaches for Indian enterprises?
In this blog, we will understand the meaning of verified parental consent and the challenges faced in obtaining the same. We will also explore the next steps forward for Indian enterprises in this space.
Also Read : The DPDP Compliance Checklist (2025): Step-by-Step Guide for Indian Businesses
What is Verified Parental Consent?
Verified parental consent is the process of confirming that the person granting permission for a child’s data to be collected is, in fact, the child’s parent or legal guardian.
This involves more than a simple checkbox. There must be reasonable and auditable proof that the consenting adult is legitimate. That could involve identity verification, government-issued IDs, OTP-based authentication, or document checks.
In other words, to verify parental consent online, companies must combine identity verification with a clear, informed consent experience. This is no longer optional. It’s a compliance mandate.
And because children share sensitive details, photos, voice data, school IDs, learning behaviour, and gaming profiles, the stakes are high. Any misuse or breach affects not just data, but a child’s safety.
Also Read : Top 9 Features in a Data Privacy Management Platform
DPDP Act and the Privacy of Children
The Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDPA) makes it quite clear that before collecting or processing any personal data of a minor, a data fiduciary must obtain verifiable parental consent.
This makes parental consent the backbone of compliance under the DPDP rules for all child-facing platforms.
The Act also prohibits:
- Behavioral profiling of children
- Targeted advertising toward minors
- Any form of tracking that could harm their well-being
This is a major shift from the earlier loose ecosystem, where schools or apps would casually collect students’ details without the necessary safeguards.
Now, whether you’re a school onboarding students for an AI tool, an app offering personalised learning, or a gaming platform with young users, minors' data consent in India is a requirement, not a choice.
Challenges of Collecting Verifiable Parental Consent in India
Collecting consent on paper sounds very straightforward. However, it's quite a catch-22 situation, especially for gaming companies and edutech platforms.
Here’s why obtaining verified parental consent online is so complicated :
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Digital journeys aren’t built for parents
Most onboarding flows are designed for users' children or teens, and not their parents. Expecting a parent to verify themselves mid-flow leads to drop-offs.
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Proving a parent-child relationship is tough.
Aadhaar can prove identity; however, it cannot prove parent-child relationships. This creates friction at the very first step of parental consent under DPDP compliance.
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Fragmented documentation
Birth certificates, school IDs, or passports, every family uses a different document for verification. Validating all of this at scale is operationally messy.
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Schools and edtechs lack verified records
Schools may have parent data; however, it's not always verified. Edtech platforms often have no parent data at all.
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Real-time compliance is overwhelming
Auditors, regulators, and the DPB expect tamper-proof, traceable audit logs. But most companies store consents in spreadsheets or internal databases, which are very much susceptible to modification or deletion.
As a result of all these complications, a compliance requirement that is simple in theory becomes extremely complex in practice.
Also Read : DPDP Cross-Border Data Transfer Rules Explained: What Companies Can and Cannot Do in 2025
Solutions for Indian Enterprises
To navigate this, Indian enterprises need solutions that ensure:
1. Identity Verification of Parents
A parent must be verified using reliable records such as Aadhaar, passport, or other IDs.
2. Relationship Verification
Platforms need mechanisms to confirm that the adult is the child's parent or guardian, using school records, government documents, or multi-step validation.
3. Tamper-proof Consent Artefacts
Under the DPDP Act, organisations must maintain immutable, timestamped, and auditable proof of consent.
4. Seamless, low-friction consent flows
A parent should be able to verify and approve consent within seconds. If it feels like a KYC process, there is a high probability that drop-offs will be massive
5. A unified consent governance layer
Most companies need more than just consent pop-ups. They need a system that manages lifecycle events, gives, revokes, updates, and audits for child data consent under the DPDP compliance. This is where platforms like Privy come in.
Also Read : Top 5 Consent Management Platforms in India 2025
How Privy by IDfy Can Help
Privy’s suite of Consent Governance Platform (CGP), Consent Shield, Cookies Manager, and Inspect AI consists of products built specifically for India’s DPDP Act and its real-world challenges.
Here’s how Privy helps enterprises solve verified parental consent:
- Verified Parental Consent Flows
- Immutable & Verifiable Consent Records
- Consent Lifecycle Automation
- Multilingual Notices in 22 Indian Languages
- RoPA and Processor Mapping
- Compliance Gap Assessments
Privy enables organisations to verify parental consent online using document validation, ID checks, timestamped consent records, and audit-friendly logs.
Using cryptographic hashing and object versioning (Privy Consent Shield), every consent is tamper-proof and audit-ready, exactly what DPDP expects.
From giving consent to revoking or re-consenting, Privy CGP ensures enterprises stay compliant at every stage.
This feature is extremely crucial for edtech parental consent and school-driven digital journeys.
This feature helps in keeping track of where minors' data travels, something DPDP regulators actively check.
Privy Inspect AI reviews digital journeys and flags whether your consent flows, notices, or policies violate DPDP before you go live.
Whether you’re a school, an edtech platform, a gaming app, or a digital service for young users, Privy simplifies minors' data consent in India and makes DPDP compliance practical, not painful.
Also Read : Penalties Under DPDP: Fines, Breach Scenarios, and How to Reduce
Conclusion
India’s DPDP Act has raised the bar for how organisations treat children’s data, which is a good thing. Whether through AI-powered learning tools or entertainment platforms, children are creating digital footprints earlier than ever. Obtaining verifiable parental consent is not just a procedural tick-box. It’s a shield protecting a child today, and the adult they’ll become tomorrow.
In an industry where trust is currency, DPDP readiness is not just compliance work; it’s future-proofing. Get in touch with us at shivani@idfy.com to take control over your data with India’s most trusted DPDP compliance platform. We will keep you updated on the latest developments regarding the DPDP rules and how they will impact your business. Stay glued to this space for more information on data, privacy, compliance, and all things DPDP.