Protecting People Online, at Scale: Robin Tombs, Yoti

Robin Tombs co-founded Yoti with a clear-eyed understanding of a problem that was growing faster than the systems designed to contain it. Online fraud, identity theft, underage access to harmful content and the erosion of digital trust were not abstract risks, they were causing real harm to real people. His response was to build privacy-preserving technology that addresses these challenges without creating new ones.

As CEO of Yoti, Robin has led the development of a suite of digital identity and age assurance solutions now trusted by organisations and regulators across multiple sectors and countries. Yoti's Digital ID allows individuals to store and share verified identity information securely, reducing fraud, impersonation and account misuse across financial services, retail, social media and other regulated environments. Rather than requiring users to repeatedly share sensitive documents, the technology puts control in the hands of individuals, who can share only what a transaction genuinely requires.

Alongside this, Robin oversaw the creation of Yoti's facial age estimation technology, which enables platforms to verify whether a user is above or below an age threshold using a simple selfie. No biometric data is stored, and images are deleted immediately after a result is returned. Independently tested by the UK's Age Check Certification Scheme, the technology achieves true positive rates above 99% for 18-plus checks at appropriate thresholds. It is a proportionate, privacy-first response to one of the most contested challenges in online safety.

The scale of impact is considerable. Under Robin's leadership, Yoti has delivered more than 1 billion age checks globally, with over 1 million completed every week. Its Digital ID technology has been downloaded more than 23 million times worldwide, and the platform is used by organisations across social media, gaming, gambling, dating, retail and financial services, including in support of compliance with the UK's Online Safety Act.

Responsible development has been a defining principle throughout. Robin has embedded ethical governance, fairness testing and independent oversight into Yoti's systems from the outset, ensuring that protections are inclusive and do not disadvantage people based on age, gender or skin tone. His commitment extends beyond his company too, through co-founding ZING in 2009 to support young people in realising their potential, and through continued mentoring and investment in startups working in education and digital skills.

Robin Tombs is a nominee whose work protects millions of people they will never meet, and who has done so with the rigour, transparency and sense of purpose the People Award was created to celebrate.

To read more about the techUK President's Awards, visit our page here. Winners will be announced at the techUK Annual Dinner on 30 June.

Read more about our President's Award finalists: 

People Award

• Bringing Technology and Purpose Together: Fiona Dawson, Mayden
• Building a Future Where Disability Is No Barrier to Movement: Dr Malik Haddad, Northeastern University London
• Protecting People Online, at Scale: Robin Tombs, Yoti

Society Award

• Protecting Communities Through Intelligence: Clare Elford, Clue Software
• Putting Human Safety at the Centre of Technology: Dr Laura Bishop, British Standards Institution
• Connected Data, Public Value: Vishal Marria, Quantexa

Economy Award

• From Strategy to Production: Steve Chan, Stealth Labs
• Making Technology Work for Small Business: Laura Burley, Xero
• The Genetics Revolution, Made Real: Professor Sir Peter Donnelly, Genomics

Planet Award

• Sustainability by Design: Ray Knight, Atos
• Turning Buildings into Efficiency Engines: Javier Benitez, Colt Technology Services
• Technology in Service of Nature: Isobel Ashbey, Cambridge Consultants