We’ll check your age ourselves – and Premium won’t be a subscription

Today, two things have been completed which, at first glance, seem to have nothing to do with one another. On closer inspection, however, they do: both revolved around the question of how much we can ask of you to make something work.

Age verification is now in place on our site

A platform featuring adult content needs to verify that its members are adults. The usual way to do this is via a third-party service: you’re redirected to their site, upload your ID there, and whatever happens to your data afterwards is set out in the privacy policy of a company you’ve never heard of.

We spent a long time looking for such a provider and realised that we didn’t like that approach. So we’re doing it ourselves.

Here’s how it works: you take a photo of your ID. You cover the number and the line of characters below it yourself beforehand, using a tool built straight into the process – we don’t need them, and without the bar, the browser won’t let anything through in the first place. Then you tilt your ID in front of the camera for a few seconds so we can see that it’s genuine and not a printout. Finally, a short selfie video with two head movements that we specify; these are randomly selected for each transaction to ensure the recording is being made at that exact moment.

The files end up encrypted in a dedicated area with its own key, separate from all other images on the platform and outside the backups. Only those who personally hold the authorisation to verify them can open them – not ‘the team’, but a named individual. Every instance of access is logged.

And then they’re gone. Not after a set period, but the moment the decision is made. What remains permanently is an entry without a single image: when the check was carried out, by whom, with what result, what type of document it was and from which country. This entry cannot be altered retrospectively – each one is mathematically linked to the previous one; a change would break the chain and be immediately noticeable. We need it to be able to prove to the authorities that we have carried out the checks.

Once verified, you can view images for users aged 16 and over, display the ‘Verified’ badge on your profile, and take part in the community’s image verification process.

We’ll be open about two things here. Firstly: a member of our team will see your ID during the verification process. That’s the point – not the opposite. Someone has to look at it, and we believe it’s more honest if that person is someone who holds responsibility here, rather than a company we can only refer to by name. Secondly: this is a temporary solution, as we’ve stated. If we find a verification provider that suits us, the process may change without anything changing for you.

Premium membership does not renew automatically

The second decision is quicker to explain: there are no subscriptions at DaddyBoy.

You book a period – one month, three or twelve – pay for it once, and that’s it. No charges the following month, no silent renewal, no cancellation button you have to hunt for. When the time runs out, you’re a Free member again. Your profile, your chats and your Verified badge are all yours to keep.

The reason is straightforward: almost everyone is familiar with that subscription you’ve been paying for two years and have long since forgotten about. It’s annoying when it happens to you, and it’s not a good foundation for a platform where people enjoy spending time. Predictable revenue should come from people returning, not from them forgetting to cancel.

In practical terms, this means that under Account › Membership, you’ll see when your paid subscription ends and how many days are left. A week beforehand, we’ll send you an email – not as a warning about a direct debit that isn’t going to happen, but so that the end of your subscription doesn’t take you by surprise. And if you renew early, the new period will be added to the end: you won’t lose a single day because you acted in good time.

Premium isn’t available to book yet; we’re currently setting up the payment system. As a founding member, you won’t lose out as a result – your subscription period won’t start until the service launches.

As always

If you notice anything or something’s missing: you can reach us via Help & Contact; the ‘Report a bug’ button is at the very bottom of every page, and under Account › My enquiries you can see what’s become of it.