Verified Photos, Backed by a Government ID We Don't Keep

Two things are true at once. Fake and misleading profiles are a big problem on dating apps. And nobody should have to hand their driver's license to a dating app to prove they're real.

I think HOTPOLY resolves that better than most.

Everyone on HOTPOLY confirms they are 18 or older before they can use it, and it's free. It's a quick selfie from during account setup. An ID is only requested if the selfie is inconclusive. We never see or store the photos or the ID. We keep only the result (over 18) and the date.

The ID Verified badge goes further, and it's part of Premium. Here's the chain:

1. Didit, our verification partner, verifies a government ID.
2. AI compares the verified ID to a live selfie.
3. AI compares that selfie to each of your profile photos.

Every photo that matches gets a visible Verified label. Your profile gets the badge. The date of birth on your ID becomes your profile's date of birth and can't be edited afterward, so the ages you see on verified profiles are ages you can trust.

Here's the part I care about most: your ID document is never sent to us. Didit processes it and deletes the images after one month, the shortest retention period they offer. What HOTPOLY keeps is the verified birthdate and the live selfie, because that selfie is the reference that lets new photos you upload later be verified too. Other members see the badge and the per-photo labels. Verification selfies and face-comparison data are deleted automatically after 24 months of account inactivity.

Why is the badge a Premium feature when age verification is free? Because each ID check costs me real money, and I'd rather charge for it honestly than make it free and recover the cost with ads or by selling data.

You can use HOTPOLY without ever doing the ID step. But when you see a profile with the badge, you know a government ID, a live face, and the photos in front of you all agreed with each other.

It is very unlikely that someone with verified photos is catfishing.