Tinder to Expand ID Verification to US and UK

After a pilot program in Australia and New Zealand, Tinder will be expanding its identity verification feature to users in the United States, the United Kingdom, Brazil and Mexico.

The option aims to help users confirm the authenticity of profiles by verifying key information, such as date of birth and likeness, the dating app said in a Tuesday (Feb. 20) press release.

The enhanced process will require users to submit a video selfie along with a valid driver’s license or passport, according to the release. The system will then check if the face in the video selfie matches both the photo on the ID and the person’s profile photos, as well as verify the date of birth on the ID.

The additional step aims to create a safer and more secure environment for users when connecting with their matches, per the release.

Artificial intelligence is making it difficult for dating app users to decipher between legitimate matches and fraudsters, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.

Swindlers are using AI-generated images to create dating profiles meant to get money out of genuine users in a scam called pig butchering, according to the report.

The Federal Trade Commission found that romance scams cost victims $1.3 billion in 2022.

The ID verification feature was piloted in Australia and New Zealand last fall, according to the press release. Users who completed the ID verification option saw a 67% increase in matches compared to those who were not verified.

The results of the pilot led Tinder to expand the feature to more countries. It plans to roll it out in the U.K. and Brazil by spring and in the U.S. and Mexico by summer, the release said.

Users who complete only the photo verification will receive a blue camera icon badge, those who complete only the ID verification will receive a blue ID icon badge, and users who complete both ID and photo verification will receive a blue checkmark, per the release.

PYMNTS Intelligence found that dating apps have never been more popular, with more than 60 million downloads in the U.S. in 2022.

At the same time, the users of these apps do not lose sight of security concerns, as more than 78% of them specifically log in to social media to verify potential dates’ social media profiles, according to the “ConnectedEconomy Monthly Report: The Love and Social Media Edition.”

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