1. Commitment to Child Safety
SovereignChat is committed to preventing access by minors. We implement Highly Effective Age Assurance (HEAA) as defined by Ofcom's guidance under the UK Online Safety Act 2023. No user can access any content or services on the Platform without first completing age verification.
2. Verification Method
We use Yoti as our age verification provider. Yoti is a UK-based identity technology company whose age estimation technology has been independently assessed and is recognised by Ofcom as capable of meeting the HEAA standard.
Users may verify their age through:
- Facial age estimation: Yoti analyses a selfie using a neural network to estimate age. The image is permanently deleted immediately after the check. No biometric data is stored by SovereignChat or retained by Yoti.
- Photo ID verification: Users may alternatively verify by providing a government-issued photo ID, which Yoti checks and immediately deletes.
3. Verification Process
- Every user is redirected to Yoti's verification service during account registration
- No Platform access is granted until verification is successfully completed
- Users who fail verification have their accounts locked and may retry with a different verification method
- Verification status is recorded as a pass/fail receipt only — no biometric data is stored by SovereignChat
4. Scope of Verification
Age verification is mandatory for ALL users — both content creators and fans/viewers. There are no exceptions, no guest access, and no content previews available to unverified users.
5. Jurisdiction Verification
During the current pilot phase, the Platform is available only to users verified as residents of the United Kingdom or the United States. Jurisdiction is determined by the country of the identity document provided during Yoti verification. This is not based on IP address — a verified UK user travelling abroad retains their verified status.
6. Privacy and Data Minimisation
Our age verification process follows the principle of data minimisation:
- Yoti deletes all biometric data immediately after the verification check
- SovereignChat receives only a verification receipt (pass/fail, document country)
- No facial images, biometric templates, or identity document details are stored by SovereignChat
- The verification receipt is retained for compliance purposes only
7. Regulatory Compliance
This age verification policy is designed to comply with:
- The UK Online Safety Act 2023
- Ofcom's guidance on Highly Effective Age Assurance (HEAA)
- The UK Age Appropriate Design Code
- UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 (regarding processing of verification data)
8. Reporting Concerns
If you believe a minor has gained access to the Platform, please report it immediately to support@sovereignchat.uk. Such reports are treated as Severity 1 incidents and investigated immediately.
9. Contact
Questions about our age verification process: privacy@sovereignchat.uk