Age & Identity Verification

Signing in sends a code to a mobile number. Entering it proves one thing: that the person signing in controls that number at that moment. It ties the account to a real, reachable phone, which matters for accountability — a removed account cannot silently return on the same number.

It does not prove who they are, and it does not prove how old they are. We previously described it as identity verification. That was wrong, and this policy replaces that wording everywhere it appeared.

A member must actively confirm they are 18 or over before a code is sent — a checkbox they tick, not a line of small print they scroll past. A false declaration is grounds for immediate removal and forfeits any pending booking.

Every booking is paid by card through our payment provider, which applies its own identity and fraud checks. Payment cards are not issued to children, so this is a meaningful second signal even though we never see the card details ourselves.

Members may also complete the same government-ID and liveness check that companions do, which earns a verified badge. It is optional for members and required for companions, because a companion is the person being met.

Before a listing can go live, a companion submits a government-issued identity document — passport, national ID card, or driver's licence — and a short live selfie video recorded in the moment. Both go to private storage that no member can reach.

An automated pre-check reads the document: whether it is an identity document at all, the date of birth printed on it, and whether the face in the video plausibly matches the face on the document and looks like a live recording rather than a screen. Anything suggesting the subject is under 18 fails the submission outright. This check filters obvious problems; it is not the decision.

A named reviewer on our team then examines the document and the video, and must separately confirm that the document shows a date of birth and the subject is 18 or over. That confirmation is recorded against the submission with who made it and when.

This is enforced by the platform, not by procedure. An approval without that confirmation is refused by the database itself, so a reviewer cannot skip the step by clicking past it, and no code path — including a direct API call — can record an approved verification without a recorded age confirmation.

A listing cannot be approved until its identity check is approved, and cannot appear anywhere or receive a booking until the listing is approved. The two gates are sequential and both are enforced server-side.

Identity documents and selfie videos are stored in a private bucket. Members never see them, companions never see each other's, and they are never attached to a public profile. Access is limited to reviewers and administrators, through short-lived links.

We keep them while the account is active and for as long as we are required to retain verification records afterwards, then delete them. The date of birth read from the document is kept with the verification record as evidence that the check was performed.

If you believe someone on PlusOne is under 18, email safety@plusone.example or report the profile in the app. You do not need proof — a suspicion is enough to make us look.

We suspend the account on receipt, before reviewing. If we cannot establish that the person is an adult, the account stays closed. We would rather remove an adult in error and reinstate them than leave a minor on the platform while we deliberate.