Identity verification

How it works, who sees your data, and what to do if something goes wrong.

Why Bookably asks you to verify your identity

Bookably is a marketplace for short-term accommodation in New Zealand. Our hosts open their homes to guests they've never met. To give them peace of mind, and to keep the platform safe for everyone, we ask new guests to complete a one-off identity check before their first booking.

Once you're verified, you won't be asked again, no matter how many bookings you make through Bookably.

How identity verification works

Bookably works with Stripe to conduct identity verification online. Stripe builds technology that's used by millions of companies around the world such as Amazon, Google, and Zoom. Stripe helps with everything from accepting payments to managing subscriptions to verifying identities.

Stripe helps Bookably confirm your identity by conducting the following checks:

Stripe captures images of the front and back of your government-issued photo ID and reviews it to make sure that the document is authentic. They've built an automated identity verification technology that looks for patterns to help determine if a government-issued ID document is real or fake. This process is like a bank teller checking your ID document to confirm that it's real.
Stripe captures photos of your face and reviews them to confirm that the photo ID belongs to you. They've built automated identity verification technology that uses distinctive physiological characteristics of your face (known as biometric identifiers) to match the photos of your face with the photo on the ID document. This process is similar to a bank teller confirming that the photo on your ID document is you based on your appearance, but it's a higher-tech and more accurate way to identify you as a unique person.

Stripe asks for your consent before collecting and using your biometric information. They'll only use your verification data in accordance with the permissions you grant before starting the verification process, and based on their Privacy Policy.

Learn more about how Stripe handles and stores your data.

Best practices for a smooth verification

Before starting the verification process, here's what you need:

A valid government-issued photo ID document. Not a photocopy or a picture of a government-issued ID document. Make sure that the ID document isn't expired.
A device with a camera, ideally a mobile. Cameras on mobile devices typically take higher-quality photos than a webcam.

The quality of the images you capture affects success rates dramatically. Below are a few best practices to help make sure that your verification succeeds:

Capture a clear image. Make sure that the images aren't too dark or bright, and don't have a glare. Hold steady and allow your camera to focus to avoid blurry photos.
Don't block any part of your ID document in the image. Ideally you should lay it flat to take the photo.
Don't block any part of your face. Remove sunglasses, masks, or other accessories.
Find a location with ambient lighting. Avoid spaces with strong overhead lights that cast a shadow on your face or ID document. Avoid sitting directly in front of a bright light which can wash out your face and add a glare to your ID document.

Who has access to your verification data

Both Bookably and Stripe have access to the information you submit through the verification flow. We rely on Stripe to store your verification data, including your ID document images and selfie. Stripe uses access controls and security standards that are at least as stringent as those used to handle their own KYC and payments compliance data.

What Bookably stores on our own side is intentionally minimal: just your verified / not-verified status, with a timestamp. We do not store the document images, selfie, name, date of birth, document type, or country of issuance. Our policy checks (such as minimum age, or a country restriction if one is enabled) are applied at the moment of verification using data Stripe provides, and that data is discarded immediately after the check.

The ID document images and selfie themselves remain with Stripe.

Under Stripe's New Zealand privacy provisions, the biometric data derived from your verification (the facial-recognition measurements extracted from your selfie and ID photo) is retained for no longer than 12 months, or until you revoke consent, whichever is earlier. Other parts of the verification record, including the document images and selfie photo, are retained according to Stripe's general retention policy. See Stripe's privacy policy and the privacy center for the current details.

Learn more about how Stripe handles and stores your data.

What if you're rejected?

Verification can fail for several common reasons, most of them recoverable:

The photo of your ID was blurry, too dark, or had glare across important details.
Your selfie didn't have enough lighting, or your face was partially blocked.
The ID document had expired, or wasn't on Stripe's list of supported document types for your country.
The name or date of birth couldn't be read clearly from the document.

You can re-attempt the verification up to three times from the same booking. If all three attempts fail, your verification is automatically queued for manual review by a member of our team. You don't need to do anything. We'll review and email you within 24 hours.

If you think your verification failed in error or you'd like to discuss the outcome, please contact [email protected] or call 0800 448 938.

Can I verify without Stripe?

Yes. If you'd prefer not to use Stripe Identity (for example, if you don't want your biometric information processed), email [email protected] or call 0800 448 938. We'll arrange a short video call (around 10 minutes) on Zoom, Google Meet, or your preferred platform. On the call we'll ask you to show your government-issued photo ID and confirm a few details.

Please don't email us photos of your ID or a selfie. We don't store sensitive documents in email. The verification happens entirely on the video call, and nothing is recorded or kept beyond an internal note describing the call outcome.

In rare cases where we're unable to satisfactorily verify your identity on the call, we may need to decline your booking.

Accessing or deleting your verification data

Stripe and Bookably each hold parts of your verification data, in different capacities. To make sure both sides handle your request fully, it's worth understanding who holds what.

What Bookably stores

We store a limited record on our side: your verified / not-verified status, and the date and time of verification. That's it. We do not store the document images, selfie, name, date of birth, document type, or country of issuance. All of those remain with Stripe. To request access to or deletion of this Bookably-stored data, email [email protected].

What Stripe holds

Stripe holds the actual verification artefacts: your ID document images, your selfie, the biometric measurements extracted from them, and the full verification record. Stripe holds this in two capacities at the same time:

As a processor for Bookably. Most of the verification data is held on our behalf. Stripe does not delete this data autonomously, even if you ask them to, because they recognise that Bookably must conduct its own assessment of whether deletion is appropriate. When you ask us to delete your data, we use Stripe's Identity API to redact what they hold on our behalf as part of handling your request.
As an independent data controller. Stripe also retains some verification data for their own legitimate purposes (e.g. fraud prevention, service improvement). For requests about Stripe-controlled data, or to opt out of Stripe using your biometric data, email [email protected] directly.

In practice

To exercise your rights fully you should contact both Bookably and Stripe. Email [email protected] for the data Bookably holds, and for the verification data Stripe holds on our behalf as our processor (we can action redaction of the latter via Stripe's Identity API). For data Stripe holds as an independent data controller, including any opt-out of Stripe using your biometric data for their own purposes, contact [email protected] directly.

Retention at a glance

Stripe (biometric data): retained for no longer than 12 months under their New Zealand privacy provisions, or until you revoke consent, whichever is earlier.
Stripe (other verification data): retained per Stripe's general retention policy. See their privacy policy.
Bookably: your verification status is kept for as long as you have an active account with us.

About Stripe

We use Stripe Identity for identity verification and other business services. Stripe collects identifying information about you and the devices that connect to its services, which includes the use of cookies. Stripe uses this information to operate and improve the services it provides to us, including for fraud detection, authentication, and analytics. You can learn more about Stripe, Stripe Identity, and read its privacy policy at https://stripe.com/privacy.

Bookably's privacy policy

This page focuses on identity verification specifically. For full details on how Bookably collects, uses, stores, shares, and retains all your personal information, see our privacy policy.

Still have questions? Email [email protected] or call 0800 448 938. We're happy to help.