Families and safety
Torvan is built with the UK Children's Code in mind, along with the children's privacy rules in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Singapore. Children's accounts are private by default, there's no open contact with strangers, and a parent stays in control of photo proof and social features.
Updated for version 1.11.2. Last updated 4 October 2026.
How Torvan is designed for children
- A parent's OK is needed before a child under 15 can use photo proof or Friends. See A parent's OK.
- Friends are off for under-18s until a linked adult Strategist switches them on.
- No chat, and no searching for people. Friends are only added by swapping a friend code.
- Friends only see a nickname. The sign-up form says not to use a full real name. An @, a web address or a long number is removed from a nickname automatically when the account is made.
- Under-18s see a safety reminder before their first friend request or acceptance.
- Block and report are on every friend's menu.
- Nothing to buy for Warriors. Card packs are only earned, never bought, and their odds are published.
- No nudges: there are no push notifications about packs or Duels. Packs are only mentioned inside the app, such as in the RANK UP! box when a level brings one.
- Quiet hours are on by default, overnight, and a parent can set and lock a child's. See Quiet hours.
- Photos have their location removed on the phone before they're uploaded, and they're deleted 7 days after the quest is done. See Photos and privacy.
- Warriors are told who can see their quests. Every Warrior sees "Your Strategist can see your quests and photos".
For how we handle personal data, see our Privacy Policy.
Year of birth and age
Everyone gives their year of birth when they sign up. We only ask for the year, never the full date. Our server uses it to decide whether a parent's OK is needed, whether Friends are available and which safety reminders to show. The app only shows what the server decides.
- Because only the year is known, Torvan assumes the youngest age you could be. For example, someone who turns 15 this year is treated as under 15 until 1 January, and someone who turns 18 this year is treated as under 18 until 1 January.
- If the age isn't known, the most private settings apply, and a parent's OK is needed.
- Accounts made before we asked for this see a one-time question, One quick question, before their home screen. It has to be answered. It also has a Sign out link, for shared phones.
- A Strategist has to be 15 or over. Someone younger who tries to sign up as a Strategist is asked to join as a Warrior instead, with a parent or carer as their Strategist.
- Torvan on your own (Solo) isn't available to under-15s. They can join as a Warrior with a parent or carer.
- Some things need a Strategist aged 18 or over: giving a parent's OK, switching Friends on, setting a Warrior's quiet hours and approving a new Strategist.
Changing a year of birth
- You can set your own year once. You'll be asked to check it first, because you can't change it yourself later.
- After that, a linked Strategist can correct a Warrior's year in Settings → Account → Privacy & Friends (called Friends & Duels in older versions of the app). The Warrior is told.
- If a new year would mean a parent's OK is no longer needed, only an adult Strategist with a verified email can make the change, and the app asks them to confirm it first.
- Strategists and Solo users need to email support to change their own.
- Changing the year can switch Friends, and the need for a parent's OK, on or off automatically.
- Every change to a Warrior's or Solo user's year after sign-up is recorded: the old and new year, when, and who made it.
A parent's OK (under 15)
New from 1 October 2026. Children under 15 need a parent's or guardian's OK before they can use photo proof or Friends. Quests, coins, XP and cards work either way. We use 15 in every country, because it meets the strictest of the rules where Torvan is used. There's more detail in our Privacy Policy.
We're bringing this in two steps. First comes an app update, then we switch the check on for everyone. Until it's switched on, photo proof and Friends work as before, except that a parent's "No", or an OK they've taken back, counts straight away. When it's switched on, Strategists who haven't decided yet get a notification asking them to.
Giving your OK (Strategists)
- Once you've linked to a Warrior who is under 15, your app shows Give your OK for and their nickname. You can also open it from Settings → Account → Privacy & Friends → Give your OK.
- Read what Torvan keeps about your child, and check their year of birth. If it's wrong, tap Change.
- Tap I'm [their nickname]'s parent or guardian — I agree.
- To give your OK, you need to be 18 or over, with a verified email address that isn't your child's. If the app asks for your own year of birth first, add it and try again.
- You need the updated app. Older versions don't have this, but your child's quests keep working on them.
- Your child, and any other Strategists, are told when you give your OK.
- If you close it without answering, it comes back the next day. Until you answer, a banner on your home screen says your child needs your OK.
- A wait for new Strategists. If your child removed a Strategist, or a parent said no or took their OK back, any adult who links with your child in the next 30 days waits 7 days from linking before they can give the OK, or change your child's year of birth so that the OK isn't needed. Strategists who were already linked aren't affected. This only applies while your child needs a parent's OK.
Saying no
- No, keep them off: photo proof and Friends stay off for your child, unless another linked parent or guardian has given their OK. Their quests keep working. You can change your mind in Settings → Account → Privacy & Friends.
- I'm not [their nickname]'s parent or guardian: only a parent or guardian can give this OK, so we stop asking you, and your child is told to ask a parent or guardian to link.
- Your child can tap Remind to ask you, once a day and up to 3 times. Once you've answered, they can't remind you again.
Taking your OK back
- Select the Warrior, then go to Settings → Account → Privacy & Friends.
- Tap Withdraw OK, then Withdraw and delete photos.
- Photo proof and Friends switch off, and your child's quest photos are deleted. Their quests keep working.
- It ends every Strategist's OK for that child, not just yours. The other Strategists are told, and they aren't asked again automatically.
- Any parent or guardian can give their OK again later. Friends then stay off until a Strategist switches them back on.
- Unlinking also ends your OK. Once the check is switched on, if no other Strategist has given an OK, your child's photos are kept for up to 30 days and then deleted, unless a parent gives their OK again. To delete them straight away, withdraw your OK before you unlink.
What happens to photo quests
- While photo proof is off, quests that ask for photos can be completed without them: your child taps Verify, then Complete. On your side, the quest says Photos paused until a parent gives their OK.
- The number of photos you chose is kept, so the quests ask for photos again once you give your OK.
- Every quest photo is deleted 7 days after its quest is done, so most older photos will already be gone. Any still waiting (for example, on a quest not yet done) are kept for up to 30 days, then deleted unless a parent gives their OK.
What your child sees
- A card on their home screen, Waiting for a parent's OK, with a Remind button, or a message saying photo proof is off if you've said no. It never mentions plans or prices.
- Every Warrior sees "Your Strategist can see your quests and photos", and can see every linked Strategist in Settings → Account → Who can see my quests.
- A Your privacy link to our privacy guide for children.
Under-15s with no Strategist
Once the check is switched on, an account for someone under 15 that has had no linked Strategist for 30 days is scheduled for deletion. It's deleted 30 days after that, unless a Strategist links first. Only a Strategist linking stops it: there's no button in the app to keep the account. The linking screen tells them. Accounts with no year of birth aren't removed this way.
Friends
Who can use Friends
| Account | Friends |
|---|---|
| Adult | Always available. |
| Under 18, with a linked adult Strategist | Off until that Strategist switches them on. Under 15, a parent's OK is needed first. |
| Under 18, with no linked Strategist (including Solo) | Always off. |
| Year of birth not given | Off until a year is added. |
Where to find Friends
Friends are inside Duels: open the Duels lobby and tap Friends. Duels unlock at level 3 for Warriors, so a Warrior below level 3 can't open Friends yet, even if a parent has switched them on.
Adding a friend
- Your friend code is 10 characters, shown as two groups of 5. Tap Copy to share it with someone you know.
- To add someone, type their code into Enter a friend code and tap Add. Spaces and hyphens don't matter.
- They see your nickname under REQUESTS and can accept or decline. You won't see theirs until they accept. Your request shows under SENT as "Friend request – Waiting for them to accept".
- A wrong code, a code from someone who can't use Friends, and a code from someone who has blocked you all say the same thing: "No one found with that friend code."
- You get a limited number of tries. After too many, you'll be asked to wait 15 minutes, or until the next day after lots of wrong codes.
Being friends doesn't unlock anything else: there are no friend matches or challenges. Duels are always against the computer.
The safety reminder
Before an under-18's first friend request or acceptance, the app shows Staying safe with friends. They tap I understand to carry on. It says:
- Only add people you know in real life.
- Friends see your nickname, so don't use your full name.
- Never share your password, address, school or phone number.
- If someone makes you feel uneasy, remove them and tell your Strategist or another adult you trust.
Switching Friends on (Strategists)
- Select the Warrior, then go to Settings → Account → Privacy & Friends (called Friends & Duels in older versions of the app).
- You'll see their age group (for example "under 13") and their year of birth.
- Turn on Allow Friends (called Allow Friends and friend Duels in older versions), then tap Switch on to confirm. You can switch it off at any time.
- Only a Strategist who is 18 or over can change this.
- For a Warrior under 15, a parent's OK comes first. Until then, the switch says Give your OK first. See A parent's OK.
- Your Warrior, and any other Strategists, get a notification when you switch Friends on or off. The screen shows who switched it on, and when.
- The permission belongs to the Strategist who gave it. If that Strategist unlinks, Friends go off again for an under-18.
- For an adult Warrior there's no switch: Friends are always available to them.
- There's no screen for Strategists to see a Warrior's friends list. You also aren't told if your Warrior blocks or reports someone, so it's worth talking about it together.
Linking and unlinking
- A Strategist can only link to a Warrior by typing in the Warrior's linking code, and the Warrior must then tap Approve. The Warrior sees the Strategist's nickname and email first, which is why Strategists need a verified email.
- Linking codes change every 24 hours.
- After a No (the Warrior denies a request, or a Strategist declines one), the Warrior's linking code changes too, so give the new one to anyone you do want.
- If someone has blocked you, their linking code looks invalid to you.
- If a Strategist blocks someone, that person can't ask to link with the Strategist's Warriors until they're unblocked (Settings → Account → Blocked users). This doesn't apply to Solo accounts.
- A Warrior can see their Strategists, and cancel a request that's still waiting, in Settings → Account → Linked Accounts.
- Either side can unlink: Settings → Account → Linked Accounts → the unlink icon → Unlink. The other person gets a "Link removed" notification.
- If a Warrior unlinks their only Strategist, they go back to the linking screen and can't do quests until they link again.
- A Strategist can't cancel a link request they've sent. The Warrior can deny it.
- A Warrior can see every linked Strategist in Settings → Account → Who can see my quests. Next to each name, Not your parent or carer? tells Torvan support, who will look into it. We don't tell the other Strategists.
Setting up for the first time? See Link your accounts.
Adding a second Strategist
If a Warrior already has a Strategist, a new one needs two yeses: first the Warrior's, then one of the existing Strategists'.
- The new Strategist enters the Warrior's code as usual.
- The Warrior taps Approve. They'll see "Approved. Now waiting for your current Strategist."
- Every existing Strategist aged 18 or over gets a "New Strategist request" notification. When they open the app, they see Approve a new Strategist?, which explains that the new person could see and set the Warrior's quests, photos and coins. The same request appears in Settings → Account → Linked Accounts under Approval needed.
- The first of them to answer decides. Approve links the new Strategist. Decline removes the request, and both the Warrior and the requester are told.
Only approve someone you know. Tapping outside the approval box doesn't close it. If it's closed with Back, it appears again within about a minute.
Only a Strategist aged 18 or over can approve a new one. If none of the existing Strategists is 18 or over, the request waits: please email support and we'll help.
The Warrior can withdraw a waiting request under Waiting for approval in Linked Accounts. Each Strategist has their own Payout Schedule. One plan covers the household, including a second parent or carer, so they don't need their own: see Plans and billing.
Block and report
In Friends, every friend, request and sent request has a ⋮ menu with Block and Report.
Blocking
- Blocking ends the friendship. Neither of you can send the other friend requests, and you won't see each other's names.
- The other person isn't told.
- To unblock someone, go to Settings → Account → Blocked users and tap Unblock. Unblocking doesn't make you friends again.
- Linked accounts can't be blocked. Use Unlink instead.
Reporting
- Tap Report and choose a reason: Bullying or being unkind; Rude or upsetting name; Asking for personal details or to meet up; Cheating in Duels; Spam; or Something else.
- Add more detail if you like (up to 500 characters).
- Also block them is ticked to start with.
- Tap Send report.
- Reports go to the Torvan team. The person you report isn't told who reported them.
- You can report someone you've been in contact with through Friends. You need a verified email to send a report.
- You can report the same person once a day, and send up to 5 reports a day. If you need to tell us more, email support@chorescape.co.uk.
If you ever feel unsafe, tell your Strategist or another adult you trust.
Quiet hours
Quiet hours are on by default. During them, Torvan doesn't buzz your phone: notifications are kept for later and arrive when quiet hours end. Your phone and other apps aren't affected. To start with, they're:
- Warriors: 9pm to 7am on Sunday to Thursday nights, and 9pm to 9am on Friday and Saturday nights.
- Strategists and Solo users: 10pm to 7am every night.
To change yours: Settings → Preferences → Quiet hours. Pick a preset or your own times (from 30 minutes to 16 hours), with different times on some nights if you like. They're saved on your account.
A Warrior's quiet hours (Strategists)
- A Strategist aged 18 or over can set a Warrior's quiet hours: Settings → Account → the Warrior's quiet hours. The Warrior is told.
- When a Strategist sets quiet hours for a child under 13, they're locked to start with, so only a Strategist can change them. For a teen (13 to 17) they're a suggestion the teen can change, unless the Strategist locks them. An adult Warrior's are their own.
- A Warrior sees who set their quiet hours. When they're locked, the Warrior can ask for different ones, and the Strategist gets the request.
- A lock only lasts while the Strategist who set it is linked.
A quest reminder that falls in a Warrior's quiet hours waits until they end. If the quest is due before they end, that reminder isn't sent. If a Strategist taps Send Reminder during them, the app offers to send it when they end.