Maison de Vapotage and Privately SA on schedule to perform millions of AI-based age checks quarterly supporting retailers in France

New partnership will see AgeAI rolled out to thousands of retail outlets in a bid to reduce underage sales and support compliance with age restriction laws

04, April, 2025 – French vape industry pioneer Maison de Vapotage has recently launched a new partnership with age assurance company Privately SA, and rolled out the latter’s AI-powered age verification technology AgeAI across ‘tobacconists’ in France.

The collaboration will help retailers comply with strict regulations on the sale of age-restricted products such as vapes, tobacco, alcohol, and gaming scratch cards. As of 31 March, AgeAI was active in more than 40 stores across France and performing more than 10,000 daily age check transactions.

The partnership brings Privately’s AgeAI – a fully-anonymous, AI-powered facial age estimation solution – into one of France's most extensive retail networks. Maison de Vapotage’s products are already present in more than 9,000 tobbaconists, and the company expects to deploy AgeAI in hundreds of those shops immediately, with thousands to follow by the end of 2025.

“Tabacs are facing immense pressure to ensure age-restricted products are not sold to minors,” said Vincent Durieux, founder of Maison de Vapotage. “But with individual shops serving up to 2,000 customers daily, visual age checks are neither realistic nor effective. AgeAI gives our clients a simple, fast and accurate way to verify age and stay compliant – without the risk or conflict resulting from unnecessary age checks.”

Unlike most other European markets, France’s 22,000+ tabacs are independent businesses operating under a unique distribution monopoly. Maison de Vapotage has supported these outlets since 2010, originally as an e-liquid manufacturer but now also as a furniture, shop design, and retail solutions provider.

The company is acting as a value-added distributor of AgeAI, bundling Privately’s software with appropriate hardware, staff training, and first-line support, ensuring a seamless in-store experience.

“We’ve worked closely with the Privately team to ensure AgeAI meets the day-to-day needs of tabacs,” added Durieux. “Their willingness to adapt the product based on feedback from our field teams and retailers has been key to the partnership. Like most countries there is concern in France about the use of AI, especially from consumers. But we’ve found that the value of AgeAI far outweighs any doubts – it’s fast, non-intrusive, and relieves pressure on staff.”

AgeAI offers fast, anonymous age estimation using facial analysis. No images are stored or transmitted, making it fully GDPR-compliant and aligned with Europe’s new AI regulatory framework. In addition to age estimation, AgeAI also provides a secure anonymous log of all checks, offering an audit trail that can help protect store owners and their staff.

In France, retailers failing to comply with age restriction laws risk warnings, fines, or temporary shop closures. AgeAI reduces this risk significantly, giving owners and employees confidence in the controls they put in place.

“We are very excited about partnering with MdV to bring automated and privacy preserving age checks to France,” said Deepak Tewari, CEO, Privately SA. “We have worked together closely for the last six months to accommodate store owner’s feedback into the product, enhancing features such as the automation of refusal registry. This helps stores demonstrate compliance better, and to make key business decisions like where to deploy mystery shoppers.”

“It’s incredible that we are already performing 10,000 daily age checks within two weeks of launching, and by summer, we should be conducting one million checks every month.”

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For further information about Privately SA, visit https://www.privately.eu/

For further information about Maison de Vapotage, visit https://www.maisondevapotage.com/

PR Contact:
Paul Allen – Rise PR
+ 44 (0) 7515 199 487 / paul@risepr.co.uk