Age and young people

Who can use qlaas

You must be at least 14 to have a qlaas account or line. If you are younger, we cannot admit you and we do not keep anything about you. A version for younger people is planned.

When you set up an account or a line we ask for your birth month and year, and the country you live in. We use them once to work out which group you are in: teen (14 to 17) or adult (18 and over). We keep the group and the country. We do not keep your birth month or year. To be careful, we assume you were born on the last day of your birth month, so we never treat you as older than you are.

This is a self-declaration for now. Before qlaas is open for anyone to sign up, we will add an age check by a provider that tells us only whether someone is over or under a line, without giving us their date of birth.

Extra protection for under-18s

Every teen account and line has these settings on from the start. A teen cannot switch them off. They follow the UK Information Commissioner's Age Appropriate Design Code.

No money: A teen cannot buy, sell, set prices, receive payouts or pay for passes.
Not listed: No public directory or search listing. A teen's public page is hidden from search engines and shows no name or photo to strangers.
Strangers cannot reach a teen: Only people the teen has invited can get in touch. There are no cold calls from unknown adults. An AI assistant can reach a teen only if the teen has chosen to allow that verified business. No voice or video from anyone the teen has not allowed.
Recording: Adults must not record or publish anyone under 18 without the permission of that person and of their parent or guardian. A teen's own recordings stay on their own device unless they choose otherwise. Guests are not added by default.
Less data: No non-essential tracking or analytics, no marketing emails, no personalised ads or profiling, and we never collect precise location.
No nudging: No streaks, countdown timers, upsells or free-trial prompts.
Safety tools: Block and report are always on screen. Our Staying safe page explains how to get help.

If a person's group changes, the settings change with it. Someone who is a teen is switched to teen settings straight away. Moving from teen to adult needs a fresh declaration, and we log that it happened.

Buying

Every purchase needs an adult aged 18 or over. Before checkout the buyer confirms that they are 18 or over, or that they are a parent or guardian buying for someone aged 14 to 17. In the second case the line is set up as a teen line. If a purchase did not start on our site, we ask for the same confirmation when the line is claimed, and the line does not go live until it is given. Teens do not see prices, billing or payment screens in their account.

Teen lines are covered by the same Qlaas DMI terms and the same cancellation rights as any other line. The parent or guardian is the customer.

Country rules

Many countries set an age below which a young person cannot agree to an online service's use of their data on their own. Until we have a way for a parent or guardian to give consent, a teen can set up an account only if they are at least 14 and at least the age that applies where they live. If you are younger than that, you will need a parent or guardian, and that is coming soon.

16: Croatia, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia
15: Czechia, France, Greece, Slovenia
14: Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Italy, Lithuania, Spain
14 (the minimum): Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Malta, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States: the local age is 13, and our minimum is 14.
Anywhere else: We use 16 until we have checked the rules there. If you live in a country not listed and you are 14 or 15, you will need a parent or guardian for now.

These are our working figures for a draft that a solicitor has yet to review. They are not legal advice.

For teenagers: the short version

You can use qlaas if you are 14 or older, and your country's rule allows it.
We ask your birth month and year once, to put you in the right group. We do not keep them.
A parent or guardian has to pay. You will not see prices or payment screens.
Nobody can find you in a list. Only people you invite can get in touch with you.
Your own recordings stay on your device. We do not use your data for ads, and we do not send you marketing.
You can block and report anyone, any time. If something feels wrong, you do not have to put up with it.
You can talk to Childline free on 0800 1111, any time, about anything. Read Staying safe.

For parents and guardians

You can buy a line for someone aged 14 to 17. It is set up as a teen line with the protections above, and you cannot switch them off for them or for yourself. We plan a parent dashboard and parental consent for younger users; none of that exists yet, and we will not say it does.

Questions, or something you want to report: hello@qlaas.co.uk. We treat a report about a young person's safety as urgent. For anything that puts a child at risk right now, call 999. Our privacy notice says how we handle data.

Age and young people.