General FAQS

AgeGO is an officially approved age verification solution by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC). It is used by websites that feature content or products that are only available to a +18 year old audience, in order to verify that a users age is +18. Once the user is verified using AgeGOs technology, the user can then enter the website and view the site’s content. This is required by UK law due to the introduction of the Digital Economy Act.

The Digital Economy Act 2017 is an Act of Parliament addressing key issues relating to electronic communications services, otherwise known as the digital economy. Key provisions seek tougher sentences for copyright offenders, age verification for pornographic websites, a minimum broadband speed of 10Mbits/sec, increased sharing of citizens’ data, in addition to a general overhaul of the UK telecoms industry regulation. Full details can be seen here. The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) is responsible for ensuring compliance with the new law.
The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) is an independent regulator and guide with over 100 years’ experience. The regulator exists to classify the age-appropriateness of films, videos and websites. It is the chosen body by the UK Parliament to implement and monitor the Digital Economy Act 2017 age verification requirements. More info here.

User FAQS

The Digital Economy Act 2017 aims to restrict the viewing of pornography online. The main goal of the UK law is to prevent children from stumbling upon sensitive content. This means that you have to prove that you are 18 years old or over before you can view the pornographic content of a website.

When you visit a +18 website, before you can see the content the home page will contain a window asking you to verify your age. You have the option to select one of several verification methods such as: Passport, Driving Licence, Mobile Phone, Credit Card, etc. An overview of methods can be seen here. Select your method of choice and follow the instructions. It takes just a minute and once your age has been verified you will be able to see the content on the website.

You are also given the option to create an AgeGO account. By having an account, the next time you visit a +18 website that is affiliated to AgeGO you just need to select the on screen option to login to your AgeGO account. Because you have already previously verified your age, you won’t need to do it again.  

Once you select your method and follow AgeGO’s on screen instructions, it takes just a minute to age verify yourself and access the website’s content you wish to view.

Creating an AgeGO account ensures that you are not required to verify your age every time you visit a +18 website that is affiliated with AgeGO. All that will be required is that you log in to your AgeGO account.

The service is totally free for you, however the Mobile Phone SMS method will charge you the standard rate to send an SMS message.

With each of our age verification methods we obtain the minimal amount of information to be able to effectively age verify you in compliance with the Digital Economy Act. Submitted data used to verify your age is erased immediately by AgeGO.

No, AgeGO does not store any identity information. When users access AgeGO, they are redirected to a secure and approved third party service by the BBFC, which will verify if the user is 18+. The only information that comes back to AgeGO is the answer to the question: “Is this user over 18?” which will be either “Yes” or “No”. The information that you provided will not be accessible by AgeGO.

If you register for an AgeGO account to make accessibility to websites much easier, we will have your email address, password and confirmation that you are over 18 . This information is encrypted to protect your identity. Additionally, AgeGO is GDPR compliant to protect you.

No, AgeGO is an age verification system, its sole purpose is to provide seamless access to adult content while complying with the new UK law. It does not track the sites its users access, what content was viewed or how much time was spent online. AgeGO is only a gateway to the world of age-restricted content.

AgeGO is affiliated with thousands of websites. If you have created an AgeGO account and verified your age, you won’t have to verify your age again to look at websites that use AgeGO as a verification solution.

Yes, you can request to be removed from AgeGO database at any time contacting info@agego.com or do it yourself, by logging in to your account. Keep in mind that you will have to go through the age verification process again in order to access age restricted content.

Assuming that you are +18 this can be due to several factors. If you used the Mobile verification method ensure that have deactivated your adult content block which is set to ‘on’ by default by your mobile provider. You can unblock the adult content by visiting your mobile provider’s shop or by calling them up. Some mobile providers offer the option of unblocking the content online. For more information click on you provider’s link:

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If using a photo identification document such as a Passport or Driving Licence, check that it is still valid and the expiry date on your document is still current. Make sure that when taking a picture of your document there’s no light reflection on it. In order to avoid this we recommend you to hold your document in front of you.

Both of these methods require you to take a headshot photograph of yourself so that it can be compared with the photo on your ID document. So ensure that you have the same expression on your face as your ID document, ensure that you remove any headwear or eyewear and that you take the photo against a neutral background.

If using a Credit Card, ensure that the name on the card is yours and its date has not expired, remember a debit card cannot be used to verify your age.  

I have attempted the age verification process using my mobile phone but the content has not been unblocked

Remember that after entering your mobile number you must send an SMS with the word Agego (not case sensitive) to the shortcode 65065. If you don’t receive any message on the screen after sending the SMS please contact us at support@agego.com with the subject “SMS error”.

Business FAQS

The Digital Economy Act 2017 aims to restrict the viewing of pornography online. The main goal of the UK law is to prevent children from stumbling upon sensitive content. If your website or online business falls into any of the following categories you will have to integrate an age verification solution to prove the user is +18 before you can show them the content within your website. Here is the list:

  • Free adult content website e.g. tube site
  • Membership paysite for adult content
  • VoD streaming of adult video content
  • Adult anime (cartoon/hentai) content
  • Retailing +18 products e.g. adult DVDs, adult magazines, adult books, etc
  • Advertiser/affiliate landing page to sell or describe adult products
  • Blog featuring adult content, adult retail products
  • Adult dating/hookup website
  • Livecam website that includes nude, semi-nude models and/or sexual acts
  • Escort services website
  • Any other website displaying adult content

Your website(s) will be blocked by all UK Internet Service Providers (ISPs) which means your site(s) will not be accessible in the UK and this will damage your UK business. The BBFC has a number of enforcement powers. These include notifying ancillary service providers like social media and search engines of non-compliant services and requesting that they withdraw their services; notifying payment service providers and requesting that they withdraw their services; and instructing internet service providers to block them.

No, you must use one of the BBFC’s officially approved age verification solutions.  

No. The guidance laid out by the BBFC states that relying solely on the user to confirm their age with no-cross checking of their information, for example by using a ‘tick box’ system or requiring the user to only input their date of birth or using a disclaimer such as ‘anyone using this website will be deemed to be over 18’, in isolation, does not comply with the legislation. You have to implement an approved age verification solution.

Yes, it is mandatory that any website showing +18 content that is available to users in the UK has to comply with the age verification requirement demanded by the BBFC and UK Government.

AgeGO is an officially BBFC approved age verification solution, here is an overview of why you should use AgeGO as your chosen solution:

Easy implementation

The AgeGO solution is quick and seamless to implement and utilises a small piece of code that you need to add to your website or landing pages, additionally the age verification process is fully responsive and works on mobile, tablet and desktop.

Your brand

You can upload your brand’s logo which is then integrated into the users age verification flow.

Your statistics

You have full access to live statistics within AgeGOs admin interface for full control over the AV flow to improve your user pass rate and control costs.

Your UK user protected

AgeGO ensures that the customer journey is fast, technically easy and totally anonymous. It is free for your end users and no user data is stored once the age verification has been approved or declined for each end user.

Our industry reach

Through our strategic partnerships, AgeGO is the age verification solution with the largest industry reach. UK users have the option to verify their age only once giving the user automatic access to all publisher and advertiser websites that use the AgeGO solution.

Our verification methods

AgeGO offers several BBFC approved methods of verification including:

  • Verification by scanning of photo identification:
    • Current Passport
    • Current Driving Licence
  • Verification with a UK mobile phone and its 3G carrier or via an SMS text
  • Verification with credit card details
  • And other methods
AgeGO is a self-service platform and you can implement our age verification in three simple steps:
  • Create your AgeGO business account 
  • Configure your site(s) in your AgeGO dashboard
  • Deploy the AgeGO script from your dashboard
Now you are totally compliant with the UK law.

No, you are only required to utilise the age verification solution. In order to keep user identify anonymous and guarantee user privacy you are not required and should not keep a record of any individual’s data or browsing habits/history.

Yes, please contact us to get more information about it.

No, for the end user it is totally free, however the Mobile Phone SMS method will charge the user the standard rate to send an SMS message.

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