# FAQ — FaceAssure on-device age estimation

Answers match the HTML FAQ and JSON-LD on https://age-estimation.info/#faq

## Does FaceAssure upload my face to a server?

FaceAssure is built so facial age estimation runs in the browser on your device. Production flows are described as not transmitting or storing the face image for inference. The selfie is not the thing being sent to “the cloud” as with a typical photo-upload age API.

## If my face stays here, what does leave the device?

The website that asked can receive an estimated age result (pass/fail against a gate, or an age range), usually as a signed token. Privately also receives a receipt of the check: how long the estimate took, frame timings, and anonymous diagnostics about the device and the estimation, plus a transaction id that ties this result to this check and cannot be used to identify you. No photo, no face data, and nothing that identifies you leave the device.

## What if there is a data leak?

A typical photo-upload age check can leave a picture of your face on a vendor’s servers, so a breach there could leak a selfie. FaceAssure is built so the face image is not sent or stored for the estimate. A leak of Privately’s servers would not contain your photo. What can leave the device is an age result and anonymous diagnostics that cannot identify you — there is no face database to steal.

## Can the website I was visiting see my camera or my photo?

The check UI is hosted by Privately (often in its own page or iframe). The integrating site is meant to receive the age result, not a copy of your face. You should still only run age checks on sites you trust to request an age signal.

## Is this facial recognition? Does it identify me?

No. Age estimation looks at patterns associated with age. It is not matching you against a watchlist or creating an identity profile from your face. It does not prove your legal name.

## When you say “AI”, do you mean ChatGPT or some other chatbot?

No. “AI” here means a small machine-learning model that does one job: estimate how old a face looks. It is not a chatbot like ChatGPT. It does not chat, write text, or answer questions. It only looks at facial patterns associated with age, on your device.

## Does the AI model stay on my device forever?

No. The model is loaded onto the device only to run the age estimation. It is not kept there afterwards, and is immediately discarded after the estimation is complete.

## Does Privately use any face data to train the model?

No. FaceAssure does not send face images or face data off the device, and Privately does not use people’s checks to train the model.

## Are third parties involved?

The model files and page can be loaded from a content network (a CDN). Privately’s privacy policy lists infrastructure and security subprocessors. That is not the same as sending your selfie to an advertising network. Bot-protection tools may see browser signals, not your face image.

## Is it accurate? Is it certified?

Age estimation is a statistical guess with error, especially near age gates. FaceAssure has been assessed under schemes such as ACCS age assurance requirements and ISO/IEC 27566-1, and Privately publishes GDPR-related certification claims. Certificates describe a product version at a point in time — they are not a promise that every check is perfect.

## Should children use this?

This site does not run a check. Platforms choose when to ask for age assurance. FaceAssure is an age-estimation method, not parental consent by itself. Caregivers should treat camera age checks like any other camera permission: know which service is asking, and why.