Famous dating app Tinder has started to enhance its identity verification for UK users. They are doing this by implementing passport or driving licence checks alongside a video selfie. This voluntary scheme will give app users a blue tick on their profile, which is the social media standard sign that someone is genuine. Tinder has in the past been frequently targeted by fraudsters, and aims to increase user safety and confidence with this measure. Identity verification is something we are all used to, whether applying for jobs, or opening a bank account. Although it’s perhaps more unusual to be asked to prove who you are when signing up to use an app, the level of trust involved in meeting someone in real life who you’ve matched with through an app means that verifying identities of users can help reassure them in terms of safety, at least to some degree.

Tinder claims to have half a billion users around the world, and has previously made attempts to tighten up on security on the app, and reassure its users that they are meeting genuine people who are interested in a relationship rather than their bank balance. The app still advises users to make their first meetings with any strangers in a public place, and to let a trusted friend know where the meeting will take place.

Verifying Identities to be Mandatory

Although Tinder has rolled out the option to verify your identity and get a blue tick against your profile on the app, this step is not compulsory. Users are still free to download the app and start swiping without any checks into their identity. The charity Victim Support welcomes the move to verify identities but has urged platforms like Tinder to make ID verification mandatory. Charities have raised concerns about the growing numbers of romance fraudsters targeting individuals through social media sites such as Tinder. They also pointed out that victims are reluctant to report crimes to the police, due to the associated shame and stigma.

What is Romance Fraud?

Romance fraud, also known as catfishing, involves pretending to be in a romantic relationship with someone, often to scam money. Many victims send huge sums of money to their overseas “partner”, before discovering that they have been scammed. As many of the scammers operate outside the UK, getting any money they have sent back is often impossible.

Tinder’s new system aims to address these issues of romance fraud by reassuring users about the authenticity of their matches. Verified users will receive a blue camera icon badge for photo verification, a blue ID icon badge for ID authentication, and a blue checkmark for completing both steps. This system for checking the identity of Tinder users has already been introduced in Australia and New Zealand. Tinder’s statistics show that users who have gone through the steps to verify that they are who they say they are get 67% more matches than unverified users. As well as the UK, Tinder is rolling out the verification tools to the United States, Mexico and Brazil.