# How verification works

> Verified profiles on Rifqa belong to real people who passed a live selfie check. How it works, who sees your selfie, and when it's deleted.

- Web page: https://rifqa.fun/verification
- In Arabic: https://rifqa.fun/ar/verification.md

*Verification*

In the verified section, every profile belongs to someone who passed a live selfie check. It takes a moment, and here's exactly what happens to your photos.

## Four steps, then you're in

1. **Add your photos**: Your main photo has to show your face clearly. Photos are checked before anyone else can see them.
2. **Take a live selfie**: The app asks for a pose, like a thumbs up or touching your nose, picked at random each time, so an old photo can't pass.
3. **We compare**: Your selfie is compared with your main photo. Clear results are decided straight away; anything unclear, or any doubt about age, goes to a person on our team.
4. **You're in**: Once you pass, you're in the verified section: you see, and are seen by, people who passed too.

## What happens to your selfie

- **Never shown to anyone**: Other members never see your selfie. It's used for this check only.
- **Deleted after 30 days**: Your selfie is deleted 30 days after the decision. The result stays, so you don't have to do it again.
- **Encrypted**: Your selfie and photos are encrypted before they're stored, each with its own key.
- **Keeps your profile yours**: We privately keep a copy of the main photo you verified with, to check that a new main photo still shows you. It's never shown to anyone.

## Why verify

- **Real people**: Everyone in the verified section has shown they're the person in their photos.
- **Adults only**: Rifqa is for people 18 and over. The check looks at age too, and anyone who might be under 18 is reviewed by a person.
- **Less time wasted**: Talk to people who are really there, for whatever you're looking for.

## If you'd rather not verify

You can skip the selfie check. You'll then be in the unverified section, which is kept apart:

- You meet only other unverified members, and they meet only you: the two sections never see each other.
- Everyone there is labelled "unverified", because nobody there has proven who they are or how old they are.
- Daily limits are lower, messages with links wait for a moderator, and safety check-ins and chaperone invitations aren't available.
- You can take the selfie check whenever you like. Passing it moves you to the verified section; your matches and conversations carry on.

## If it doesn't pass

- Try again in good light, facing the camera, with nothing covering your face.
- Check that your main photo clearly shows your face; you can change it and try again.
- Unclear results are reviewed by a person, and you'll see the outcome in the app.
- Still stuck? Ask Help & support in the app.