At Schoolhouse, trust and safety are at the heart of everything we do. As our community grows, we want to ensure it remains a place where learners and tutors feel safe, respected, and confident in the people they interact with.
That’s why we’re introducing age verification for all new users on Schoolhouse.
Why This Matters
Every learner who joins Schoolhouse deserves to know they’re in a space built with their safety in mind. Every tutor deserves to know the people they’re working with are who they say they are.
Age verification helps us uphold those standards and ensures our community can trust that Schoolhouse takes safety seriously.
This update also brings us in line with industry best practices for online education and helps ensure we’re meeting our legal and ethical responsibilities as a platform that serves minors.
What’s Changing
All new users will be asked to verify their age before they can fully participate in live sessions or complete certain activities on the platform.
Age verification is powered by Yoti, a leading provider of secure identity verification technology.
Depending on the age listed on your account, the verification process will work slightly differently.
Users Under 18
If you are under 18, you will complete a short facial age estimation check.
This involves recording a brief live selfie so Yoti can estimate your age.
The process takes only a few seconds
No photos or biometric data are stored
Results are returned instantly
If the estimated age is very close to 18 or does not match the age listed on your account, you may be asked to complete an additional verification step.
Users 18 and Older
If you are 18 or older, you may be asked to complete a one-time identity verification.
This usually involves scanning a government-issued ID.
The process is fast and secure and helps confirm that adults using the platform are verified.
If Automatic Verification Doesn’t Work
If we’re unable to confirm your age through the automatic verification process, you may be asked to complete a manual verification step within the platform.
Our Safety team reviews these submissions to confirm your age and typically completes reviews within 2 business days.
What About Current Users?
This process applies to new users joining Schoolhouse.
If you’re already part of the community, you won’t need to complete age verification unless we ask you to verify as part of a safety review or future platform updates.
We’ll continue evaluating how and when to expand this process as we strengthen our safety systems.
Your Privacy, Protected
We’ve chosen Yoti because of their strong commitment to user privacy.
No facial recognition data or photos are stored for users under 18.
For identity verification, information is encrypted and securely handled by Yoti.
Schoolhouse only receives confirmation that a user has been verified.
Your personal information is never shared publicly.
Building a Safer, More Trusted Community
This update is an important step toward making Schoolhouse a safer place to learn, tutor, and grow.
We know how much our community values trust, and we’re committed to strengthening that trust with every improvement we make.