Venue Age Rules Schema

Overview

Lantern enforces age restrictions at the venue level to ensure:

1. Legal compliance (21+ for bars serving alcohol)
2. Time-based restrictions (some venues change age requirements by time of day)
3. User safety and appropriate venue matching

All age verification happens server-side using encrypted birth dates. Users never see ages displayed publicly.

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Venue Configuration Schema

Basic Structure

{
  "venue_id": "unique-venue-id",
  "name": "Venue Name",
  "type": "bar|cafe|restaurant|club|activities",
  "min_age": 18,
  "time_restricted": false,
  "restrictions": []
}

Fields

venue_id (string, required)

Unique identifier for the venue.

name (string, required)

Display name of the venue.

type (string, required)

Venue category. One of: bar, cafe, restaurant, club, activities, shop, public-space

min_age (integer, required)

Minimum age to light a lantern at this venue (default: 18)

• Most venues: 18
• Bars/clubs: 21
• Can be higher for special venues

time_restricted (boolean, required)

Whether venue has different age rules at different times.

• false: Same age rule all day
• true: Age requirements change by time (see restrictions array)

restrictions (array, optional)

Array of time-based age restrictions. Only used if time_restricted: true.

Each restriction object:

{
  "start_time": "HH:MM",
  "end_time": "HH:MM",
  "min_age": 18
}

---

Examples

Example 1: Simple Cafe (18+, All Day)

{
  "venue_id": "cafe-midnight-bean",
  "name": "The Midnight Bean",
  "type": "cafe",
  "min_age": 18,
  "time_restricted": false,
  "restrictions": []
}

Behavior: All users 18+ can light lanterns anytime.

---

Example 2: Bar/Restaurant (Age Changes by Time)

{
  "venue_id": "bar-rusty-anchor",
  "name": "Rusty Anchor Pub",
  "type": "bar",
  "min_age": 18,
  "time_restricted": true,
  "restrictions": [
    {
      "start_time": "06:00",
      "end_time": "22:00",
      "min_age": 18,
      "description": "Restaurant hours: 18+"
    },
    {
      "start_time": "22:00",
      "end_time": "06:00",
      "min_age": 21,
      "description": "Bar hours: 21+"
    }
  ]
}

Behavior:

• 6am-10pm: 18+ can enter (restaurant/dining)
• 10pm-6am: 21+ only (bar mode)

---

Example 3: Nightclub (21+ Always)

{
  "venue_id": "club-electric-avenue",
  "name": "Electric Avenue",
  "type": "club",
  "min_age": 21,
  "time_restricted": false,
  "restrictions": []
}

Behavior: Only 21+ users can light lanterns.

---

Example 4: Public Space (18+)

{
  "venue_id": "library-city-main",
  "name": "City Library",
  "type": "public-space",
  "min_age": 18,
  "time_restricted": false,
  "restrictions": []
}

Behavior: All 18+ users can light lanterns.

---

Server-Side Age Verification Logic

Pseudocode

function canUserLightLanternAtVenue(user, venue, currentTime) {
  // 1. Decrypt user's birth date (server-side only)
  const userAge = calculateAge(decryptBirthDate(user.encrypted_birth_date))
  
  // 2. Get applicable age requirement
  let requiredAge = venue.min_age
  
  if (venue.time_restricted) {
    // Find matching time restriction
    const restriction = venue.restrictions.find(r => 
      isTimeBetween(currentTime, r.start_time, r.end_time)
    )
    if (restriction) {
      requiredAge = restriction.min_age
    }
  }
  
  // 3. Check if user meets requirement
  return userAge >= requiredAge
}

Response to User

If eligible:

{
  "can_light": true,
  "venue_id": "bar-rusty-anchor",
  "venue_name": "Rusty Anchor Pub"
}

If NOT eligible:

{
  "can_light": false,
  "venue_id": "bar-rusty-anchor",
  "venue_name": "Rusty Anchor Pub",
  "reason": "This venue requires users to be 21+ after 10pm"
}

---

Frontend Behavior

Venue Selection

When user selects a venue to light their lantern:

1. Frontend sends request to backend with:

   • user_id
   • venue_id
   • current_time

2. Backend validates age and responds

3. Frontend shows:

   • Success: Open LightLanternForm
   • Failure: Display error message with reason

Error Message Examples

❌ This venue is 21+ after 10pm
❌ This venue requires users to be 21+
❌ You must be 18+ to use Lantern

---

Privacy Guarantees

What's Encrypted

• User's birth date (encrypted with user-specific key)
• Only decrypted server-side for age verification
• Never transmitted or displayed to other users

What's Logged

✅ "User X requested access to Venue Y at Time Z" ✅ "Age verification passed/failed" ❌ User's actual age ❌ User's birth date ❌ Calculation details

Data Retention

• Birth dates: Deleted 30 days after account deletion
• Verification logs: 90 days (no PII, just pass/fail)
• Location check-ins: 48 hours max

---

Integration with Merchant Offers

Merchants can only create offers for age-appropriate users.

Example: Bar Offer

{
  "offer_id": "bogo-pints",
  "venue_id": "bar-rusty-anchor",
  "min_age_override": 21,
  "headline": "BOGO pints after 8pm"
}

Backend filters:

• Only shows offer to users who pass age check for venue
• If min_age_override is set, use that instead of venue's min_age
• Prevents accidental marketing of alcohol to underage users

---

Backend Implementation TODO

1. Firestore Schema

   venues/{venue_id}
     - min_age: number
     - time_restricted: boolean
     - restrictions: array
   
   users/{user_id}
     - encrypted_birth_date: string
     - created_at: timestamp

2. Cloud Function: verifyVenueAge

   • Input: userId, venueId, timestamp
   • Output:

3. Security Rules

   // Users can't read other users' birth dates
   match /users/{userId} {
     allow read: if request.auth.uid == userId;
     allow write: if false; // Only backend can write
   }

4. Logging

   • Log age verification attempts (no PII)
   • Alert on repeated failures (potential abuse)

---

Questions to Answer

1. Grace period for birthdays?

   • Should we verify age daily or cache verification status?
   • Recommendation: Cache for 24 hours, reverify daily

2. Venue-specific overrides?

   • Can merchants request custom age rules?
   • Recommendation: Yes, but requires manual approval

3. Emergency access?

   • What if user is locked out due to age miscalculation?
   • Recommendation: Support ticket with ID verification

4. International users?

   • Drinking age varies by country
   • Recommendation: Use venue's local age rules