Dating and matchmaking

Age verification for dating apps

Dating apps are under pressure to keep minors out. Tessio checks age without turning your app into an ID collector. Users confirm they are over 18 with the EU age verification app (the EU Digital Identity Wallet follows once our access certificate is issued).

Create an account → See the API

The problem

Regulators expect dating platforms to keep under 18s off adult oriented services. The DSA asks platforms accessible to minors to take proportionate protection measures, and the UK Online Safety Act sets age assurance duties. But collecting IDs to prove age creates its own privacy problem.

With Tessio the user proves they are over 18 in the EU age verification app, you get a signed yes or no and you store no documents or dates of birth.

Before and after

Without Tessio

Self declared birthdays, which offer no real assurance and nothing to show a regulator.
An ID upload, which brings documents and dates of birth into a sensitive product.

With Tessio

A wallet based over 18 proof that users can give without sharing documents.
A signed result you can keep as evidence of a real age check.
No documents or dates of birth stored, which suits a product built on trust.
Built on the standards both EU wallet paths use.

How it works

Call the API at onboarding

POST an age check when a user signs up or before they access adult features. You get a hosted verification link.

The user confirms 18+

They prove they are over 18 in the EU age verification app. No ID upload.

You get a signed result

A signed yes or no lands on your webhook. You gate access, keep evidence and store no documents or dates of birth.

Start a check

One POST creates a check and returns a link for the user's wallet. The signed result lands on your webhook. Full detail is in the developer docs.

curl -X POST https://api.tessio.eu/v1/age-checks \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer tk_your_key" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Idempotency-Key: signup-4821" \
  -d '{ "minAge": 18, "reference": "signup-4821" }'

Frequently asked

Does this meet DSA and Online Safety Act duties?

The DSA asks platforms accessible to minors to take proportionate measures, and the Commission guidance points to age verification for higher risk contexts. The UK Online Safety Act sets highly effective age assurance duties enforced by Ofcom. A wallet check works only for someone who has an EU wallet credential, so under the UK Act you need another method for UK users without one. Tessio gives you a signed over 18 proof, and our summaries help you confirm your own duties.

Why is a wallet check better for a dating app?

A wallet confirmation proves age without sharing documents, and because we store no documents or dates of birth, there's no sensitive dataset to breach.

What about users without an EU wallet?

Few people have the EU age verification app yet. The rollout is early and we do not provide a document or selfie fallback, so Tessio is not a drop in replacement for your current age checks. The realistic path is to run Tessio alongside what you already use and move more traffic to the app as adoption grows.

Put it in front of your users

Signup is open and a test project works as soon as you create one. Sending real traffic needs us to switch your organisation to live mode, so that part stays a conversation. Pricing is published, with no quote needed.

Create an account → Read the docs