Help » Age Verification FAQ

What is age verification?

Age verification is a process that involves submitting documents that prove your date of birth. Once your date of birth has been confirmed, and we know you are definitely over 18 years of age, a checkmark is added to your user profile identifying you as a verified adult.

You can determine if the checkmark is official by clicking on it -- if a speech bubble containing the words "This user is a verified adult" appear, you know the checkmark is valid.

How do I get age verified?

1. Log in.
2. Open your account menu (appears as your username in the top right of the header, or at the bottom of the menu on mobile)
3. Click "Account Settings" on the submenu
4. Click "Age Verification" from the sidebar. This link will only appear if you are registered as over 18.
5. Follow the on-screen prompts.

What if I don't show my exact age on my user profile? Can I still show others that I am verified as an adult?

Yes, if you choose to go through the verification process, the fact that you are verified as an adult will show on your profile even if you choose not to include your specific age.

What about anonymous characters?

Your exact age will not be displayed on anonymous characters, but if you have been verified as over 18, that information will be visible on the character's profile. Choose "Info" from the top toolbar of a character profile to see whether that user has been age verified.

Is age verification required to access the adults only forum?

No. This is optional for those who happen to want it.

Not everyone has money to spare for social media. Others do not have access to necessary documentation. Some only have ID that uses their dead name, and they avoid any contact with those documents if at all possible. Some may be in countries that we don't have the ability to verify documents for yet. Some may just flat out not feel comfortable submitting their documentation online.

Can I decide to exclude people who aren't age-verified from my personal profiles/groups?

Yes.

For your personal profiles & inbox:

• Open your account menu (appears as your username in the top right of the header, or at the bottom of the menu on mobile)
• Click "Account Settings" on the submenu
• Choose "Comfort & Privacy Settings" from the sidebar (at the bottom on mobile)
• Scroll down to the heading "Privacy Settings" and find the setting "When I set something to "my age group..." Change the dropdown to "Only count those who have gone through the age verification process (caution: HIGHLY restrictive)"
• Click Save Changes.

For a group:

• Go to Your Stuff » Groups
• Choose the pencil icon next to the group you want to modify
• Choose "Joining and Applications"
• Under the heading Member Restictions, find the setting "Only verified adults may apply (caution: HIGHLY restrictive)" and check the box.
• Click Save Settings.

What is the age verification process like?

1. You take photos of your photo ID when prompted. A wide variety of photo ID from 32 countries around the world are accepted.
2. You will take a selfie when prompted. This helps to ensure that the ID is yours, not something slipped out of a parent's wallet or otherwise stolen.
3. Our ID verification partner sends us a confirmation of your DOB and an assessment of likelihood that the documents are genuine and belong to the submitter, usually in 5 minutes or less.
4. At no time will any of your documentation touch our own Server, and as soon as the verification check has been completed, we tell our ID verification provider to purge all of your images and personal data from their system. They are required to comply within 4 days.

Who sees my data?

Most reviews are performed automatically by our verification service provider's AIs trained to recognize and verify official documents. That said, our ID verification servicer advises us that manual human reviewers may become involved from time to time, especially when the computers are uncertain about something. You can learn more about the specifics of this process here: https://support.stripe.com/questions/common-questions-about-stripe-identity

If for some reason the AI isn't able to match your selfie, you will have the option to request a second review be performed by a human (Kim). You are also free to decline this.

At no time will any of your documentation touch our own Server, and as soon as the verification check has been completed, we tell our ID verification provider to purge all of your images and data from their system (unless you gave them differing permissions during the submission process.) Their terms give them up to four days to complete this process, though our experience so far has been that it usually happens in under an hour.

How much does it cost?

We are currently offering this to all active Epic Members! If you don't want to be charged monthly, you can still grab just one month on its own, or even just 20 days, which makes the lowest effective cost for it $3.30. Once verified, you get to keep your checkmark for as long as you keep your account, even if your Epic Membership lapses.

Who is eligible for age verification?

You must be 18 years or older and considered a legal adult in your locale (if the age of majority is over 18 where you live) in order to submit identifying documents.

You must also have a photo ID from one of the following countries:

• Australia
• Austria
• Belgium
• Canada
• Costa Rica
• Cyprus
• Czech Republic
• Denmark
• Estonia
• Finland
• France
• Germany
• Hong Kong
• Ireland
• Italy
• Latvia
• Liechtenstein
• Lithuania
• Luxembourg
• Malta
• Netherlands
• New Zealand
• Norway
• Portugal
• Romania
• Slovakia
• Slovenia
• Spain
• Sweden
• Switzerland
• United Arab Emirates
• United Kingdom
• United States

Why do I have to take a selfie as part of the submission process?

The purpose of age verification is being as sure as possible that the user's birthdate is accurate, and the person is not a minor lying about their age.

Over the years, we have occasionally been alerted to incidents of minors using their parents' credit cards to purchase account upgrades without permission. This indicates to us that a determined minor could get hold of a parent's wallet and take the ID just the same as they could take a credit card, rendering the process fairly easy to defeat. The requirement of a live, matching selfie, makes it much harder to submit an ID that belongs to someone else, and raises confidence levels that the age verifications are meaningful.

My appearance is significantly different now then when my ID photo was taken. Can I still get age verified?

We have run into issues with the face-matching AI being confused by a large difference in weight or other appearance changes. If the AI isn't sure, you will be sent an inbox message letting you know that the selfie couldn't be positively identified, and giving you the option to let a human (Kim) do a second review. It's up to you whether you're comfortable with her eyeballs or not!

If you choose 'No', we will immediately order your data and images to be redacted. If you choose yes, they will be retained just long enough to be examined and then we will send the order for redaction.

If you can't decide and don't answer for four days, we will order your data and images redacted and you'll have to start the process over.