Version: en-1, July 2025
Depending on the jurisdiction from which you are accessing BLUF, whether via the website or an app, we may need to check your age before allowing you to join, or to access some of the material on the site if you are already a member.
We use age assurance, or age verification techniques, to ensure that you are over 18 years of age, (or another, higher age if required by law in a specific jurisdiction).
We use these tools if we are legally mandated to or if, in the opinion of the Directors, it is prudent to use them for the protection of the club and its reputation.
We use a selection of age verification methods on BLUF, depending on the jurisdiction. In some countries, the rules are stricter than others, so some of the methods listed here may not be available to you, depending on your location.
A BLUF account is considered verified when it has been a member continuously for eighteen years.
If you make a donation, including regular monthly payments, using a credit card, your account will be considered verified.
Your email address can be verified against databases such as utility providers to confirm that you are over 18.
Official documents such as passport, driving licence or identity card can be used to verify your age.
Your account can be verified using a selfie taken on your phone, which is analysed by AI to confirm that it is a live image, and that you are over 18.
Your mobile phone number can be checked to see if it is registered to someone over 18 years old.
In France, you can buy a verification token at a tobacconist, after showing proof of age, which can be used to verify your BLUF account.
We apply age verification rules based on the country from which you are accessing BLUF. This means that when you travel, different rules may apply. For example, if you normally live in a country where we do not require verification, and visit one where we do, you will be required to verify your age to access all our features.
If you normally live in a country that requires verification and travel to another country that requires verification, but are not verified using a method allowed in the second country, you will be required to verify your age using a method acceptable in the country you are visiting.
We have tried to make age verification on BLUF as secure as possible. We work with a selection of trusted partners to verify or estimate your age, and receive as little information as possible.
If we verify your age using a credit card payment through our payment provider Stripe, we do not receive your card number. We receive confirmation that a credit card was used, and a reference to the transaction. Your credit card will record a donation to BLUF Ltd.
For other verification methods (except an identity check using Stripe), we receive a simple indication of whether or not you are at least 18 years old. We do not receive or store your date of birth.
If we previously verified your identity using a Stripe check of an official document please see this page for more details.
None of our verification methods results in BLUF Ltd obtaining your real name or other personally identifying information. Where our verification providers use such information to check your age, they delete it as soon as possible after verification has been carried out.
While we cannot guarantee 100% security - no one can - we believe that we have minimised the risks to your privacy as far as we can reasonably do so.
Where age verification has been turned on for a jurisdiction, there is also a deadline for compliance for that jurisdiction. Before that deadline, your use of BLUF will not be restricted, but you will be prompted to complete age verification each time you sign in to the website.
After the deadline, if your account has not been verified, you will not be able to view photos of other members, or view photos that have been sent to you in messages. Your account may be restricted in other ways, depending on whether you are accessing it via the website or an app.
If you are not a member, and are applying from a country where age verification is enabled, we will be unable to process your membership.
While BLUF Ltd takes every reasonable step to protect your data (see our full privacy policy), we cannot be held liable for any failures in systems we do not control, including those of our age verification providers.