Creating a fake profile on Tinder can take just a few minutes. Soon it won’t be so simple. The app is implementing a security measure to combat the problem of fake accounts which will force all users to undergo facial verification.
Show me your face. Face verification was optional, but with Face Check it is made mandatory for all new users. During the account creation process, a selfie video will have to be taken as “proof of life”. The measure is already underway in some countries such as the United States, Australia, Canada, Colombia and India, among others. There is no date, but it is expected that it will soon be deployed in the rest of the world.
Does not save the photo. Tinder’s security manager tells it in Wired. During verification, the app does not save a photo of our face, but instead saves reference points on the shape of the face and converts them into a mathematical hash. The app compares that file with its database to check if it matches another account. With this measure, Tinder will prevent the creation of bot accounts, but it will also prevent the same person from having multiple accounts.
a serious problem. We don’t have updated data on the volume of fake accounts, but in 2021 it was at least 23%. Tinder admits that almost all (98%) of the moderation actions they carry out are motivated by fake accounts, spam and fraud. And the problem is serious. In 2024, Bloomberg published a report about the extent of romance frauds, many of them carried out through fake profiles created by AI. The usual topic is cryptocurrencies and other fraudulent platforms. According to the Federal Trade CommissionIn 2022 alone, more than $1.3 billion were scammed in the United States.
Loss of interest. After the boom of the pandemic, Tinder began to lose users, especially paid. Others like Bumble also began to decline and the trend has continued. According to this survey78% of users were tired of using these apps. It’s what they call ‘dating fatigue‘ and basically it is that we are too lazy to flirt through apps.
and trustworthy. The fact that apps are full of fake profiles does not help their growth and Tinder knows it. The new measure is aimed at regaining the trust of users, ensuring them that they are talking to a real person and not a bot or a multi-account. Of course, it still does not address other problems, such as those who upload fake photos, lie about their relationship status or they use ChatGPT to seem more interesting than they really are.
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