Safety at Debatable

Last updated: 2026-10-07. This page is the plain-language version. The binding documents are the terms and the privacy policy.

Debatable puts real people in live argument with each other, on camera, often across the world. That only works if the room is safe, so the protections below are built into how rounds run rather than promised in a policy nobody reads. If you are a parent, coach, or school administrator deciding whether this is appropriate for your students, this page is written for you.

1. Who can use Debatable

• You must be at least 13 to use the service.
• If you are between 13 and 18, you may only use it with the consent and supervision of a parent, guardian, or school coach.
• School-team and classroom accounts must be administered by an adult educator.
• Cash never reaches a minor. Tournament cash prizes are restricted to eligible winners aged 18 or older, verified before payout.

2. Debating a stranger

Live human rounds require a signed-in account. Anonymous visitors can practice against the AI, but they cannot enter the live queue, take a seat in a live room, or send direct messages. The person on the other side of a live round is accountable to an identity, and so are you.

One live pool. There is no age question at the door of a live round and no separate matching pool by age. Everyone who has agreed to the terms above meets the same queue. That means a 13 to 17 year old using the service with a parent, guardian, or coach's supervision can be matched with an adult on camera, which is why supervision is a condition of use and not a suggestion. The protections that are always on are the ones in section 4: cameras stay off until you accept a match, every debater is on camera, every round has one-tap report and block, and a human reviews every report within 24 hours.

Before a live room opens, both sides confirm they are present and both sides see the motion. Either debater can end the round and leave at any time.

3. Cameras and recording

• Ordinary live rooms are not recorded by default. A participant asks and every seated person agrees before capture begins.
• Tournament rooms are recorded. Registration and check-in disclose the rule, and the room does not open until every assigned person acknowledges it. There is no decline button inside the room; someone who cannot be recorded must withdraw before playing.
• Preliminary footage is private by default. Elimination-round broadcast follows the published event rules. The room shows a recording indicator whenever capture runs.
• Under 18, recording consent requires a parent or guardian's approval.
• Every debater is on camera. The person you are debating is as visible to you as you are to them.

4. How reports are reviewed

• An on-device watchdog monitors live video for inappropriate content. When it trips, the flagged camera is cut immediately, but the machine alone never removes anyone: the opponent is asked to confirm before any strike is applied.
• Any participant can report the person across from them. Confirmed reports remove the offender from the round, and repeat offenses escalate to temporary and then longer bans.
• Spectators in a live round can watch and comment, but they cannot speak into the room, and audience cameras publish video only, never audio.

5. What happens to your words

• We do not sell your data and we do not run ad trackers.
• Signed in, your rounds, ballots, and style profile are saved to your account so the product works across devices. Nothing you say trains GPT, Claude, or any other foundation model.
• Audio from AI voice rounds streams to the speech provider for the round and is not stored on our servers.
• Research licensing of anonymized rounds is restricted to adults. The setting starts switched on, but nothing is shared until you confirm you are 18 or older and save it, and you can turn it off at any time. Content from users under 18 is excluded even when the toggle is on.

The full details, including retention and deletion, are in the privacy policy.

6. How judging works, and how to contest it

AI-judged rounds run against a published rubric that is set before the round, not written after it. Every decision comes with a written reason. Either debater can appeal to a human reviewer, and no automated system can resolve an appeal. Tournament finals are decided by a live audience vote, with the AI ballot published beside it rather than deciding it.

7. For parents, coaches, and schools

If you run a program, the expectation is simple: students between 13 and 18 use Debatable with your knowledge, school rosters are administered by an adult, and you can reach a human directly with any concern. We would rather hear a question before your students join than a complaint after.

8. Report a concern

Email hello@itsdebatable.com. Reports of suspected underage use, safety incidents, and questions from schools all go to the same inbox and are read by a person.