Why does Azar conduct age assurance?
Safety is a top priority at Azar.
To help keep our community safe and comply with safety laws, Azar conducts different types of age checks to help ensure that users meet our minimum age requirements, in accordance with our Terms.
Everywhere Azar operates - Azar checks images for age assurance
Everywhere Azar operates, to check if you meet our minimum age requirements, we may review your face when your camera is on, just before a call starts.
We use automated technology to scan the image and look for signs that you might be under 18. This technology does not create, store, or rely on face maps or face templates that could uniquely identify you.
In Australia, Europe, the UK, and USA - an additional selfie check
To comply with best practices in online safety, the UK's Online Safety Act (OSA),the Australian Social Media Minimum Age Regulation (SMMA), and the Digital Services Act (EU) 2022/2065 (DSA), Azar has deployed an additional age assurance process in these regions.
To do that, Azar asks users to take a quick video selfie that clearly shows their face. We then use automated technology from our vendors, Yoti and FaceTec, to scan your face from your selfie and generate a short-lived face map to look for signs that you might be under 18. This face map, which may be considered “biometric information” in some places, will not be used to uniquely identify you, and your selfie will not be shared with other users.
Azar does not retain your video selfie, and we delete the face map approximately 1 day after the check is complete. We keep two audit images from your video selfie for the purposes outlined below.
US Residents: We do not “sell” or “share” the data collected or generated from this age check, as such terms may be defined by applicable privacy law in your state.
How does the age check work?
For the additional selfie check, where applicable, we use automated technology to analyze your image, determine if you are a real person, and estimate whether you are over 18.
After your image is reviewed:
- If we determine you’re likely over 18, you can continue using Azar as usual.
- If we determine that you’re likely under 18, your account will be banned. Information on appealing this decision is available here.
- If we can’t confirm your age, we’ll do a manual review.
If you're a new user undergoing manual review, your profile won’t be visible to other users and your functionality will be limited until the review is complete.
If you appeal this decision, we may ask for additional verification (such as an ID check) to confirm your age. Information on the appeal process is available here.
This process provides a way to estimate age while limiting the collection and use of personal information to what’s strictly needed. We use this process to assess whether you meet Azar’s age requirement, not for other purposes like advertising or uniquely identifying you.
The results of your age check may be used to manage and troubleshoot the age check process, help train certain machine learning models that support our trust and safety tools, and test and audit those models and tools.
How do you store my data?
Your image, selfie, and moderation records, as applicable, are processed in accordance with Azar’s Privacy Policy.
Your data is securely stored on Amazon Web Services (AWS). If you'd like to learn more about how AWS handles data, you can click here.
If you took a video selfie for age check (Australia, Europe, the UK, USA)
Azar does not retain the video selfie itself. Azar will keep your audit images for up to three months to manage and troubleshoot the age check process. We may also use the audit images to test, audit and train our trust and safety tools. Your face map is deleted within approximately 1 day after the check, and the results from your age check (pass or fail) will be stored in a secure format for the lifetime of your account and the applicable retention period following account closure, as outlined in Section 9 of our Privacy Policy. Your age score will be retained for 12 months after the check.
Recurring age assurance conducted when you use Azar (everywhere Azar operates)
Upon completion of the age check, Azar keeps the image for 3 months after capture and the outcome for the life of the account for testing, auditing and training purposes.
Azar’s data practices
Visit our Privacy Policy to learn more about our privacy practices, including the Your Rights section. For more information about automated decision-making at Azar, check out our FAQ.
I still have questions
Contact us anytime.