Verification Policy

Verification helps us reduce:

• fake and throwaway profiles;
• impersonation and catfishing;
• duplicate accounts and ban evasion;
• certain kinds of scams and platform abuse.

Because Who's Down IRL™ leads to real-world meetups between adults, we think it's worth knowing that the person you're meeting took real steps to confirm who they are.

Depending on current platform requirements, you may complete:

• Email verification — you confirm an email address you control before you can join hangouts.
• Phone verification — a code sent to a working phone number. Phone verification supports account security, authentication, fraud and duplicate-account prevention, and account-related communications. Your number is never shown to other members.
• Identity verification through Stripe Identity — a government ID plus a selfie, checked against the legal name on your account.

Identity verification is processed by Stripe Identity, a third-party verification provider. During the check Stripe may collect and process identification documents, document and selfie images, biometric-style comparison data derived from those images, verification results, and device or browser information necessary to complete and secure the check.

Stripe processes that information under its own privacy and data-retention practices. We receive the verification outcome and limited related details — not a copy of your ID document library. Please also review Stripe's privacy policy and Stripe's consumer terms.

Current Identity Verification Fee: $2.00 (one time).

This is not a membership fee — joining Who's Down IRL™ is free. The fee covers the cost of running the ID check so the platform doesn't absorb that cost for every attempt. It is disclosed on screen before you start the paid transaction, and you are charged when you choose to begin verification. Once paid, you are taken straight into the Stripe Identity check.

The $2.00 identity-verification fee is separate from membership and is generally non-refundable once the Stripe Identity verification process has been initiated, because verification processing costs may already have been incurred. Exceptions may be made for duplicate or incorrect charges, technical billing errors attributable to the platform, or where a refund is required by law. Paying the verification fee does not guarantee successful verification.

Payment is handled by Stripe payment processing, which is separate from Stripe Identity. See the Payment, Subscription & Refund Policy.

A badge means the associated verification was completed successfully — nothing more.

• Phone Verified — a working phone number was confirmed for this account.
• Identity Verified — a government ID and selfie check completed successfully through Stripe Identity.

We do not use labels like “safe user”, “background checked” or “trusted”, because those statements would not be true.

Verification is not:

• a criminal background check — we do not perform them;
• an endorsement or character reference;
• a safety guarantee or a prediction of future behavior;
• a guarantee that every detail in a member's profile is accurate.

Verification is one part of our safety system and does not replace personal judgment or safe meetup practices. It is not a criminal background check and is not an endorsement of any member.

Read the Safety Center before your first meetup, every time.

Checks can fail for ordinary reasons — glare on a document, an expired ID, a blurry selfie. If a check can't complete automatically it may be placed in manual review, and our team follows up. If you're stuck, contact Support and include the approximate time you tried. Never send ID images through support messages or chat.