Parents might have once cautioned against speaking to strangers on the internet.
But dating apps are now one of the most common ways for couples around the world to meet.
Matching with strangers still has its drawbacks, including the risk of being ‘catfished’.
But help is at hand, as Tinder has launched new verification tools in the UK and US that let users scan their passport or driving licence to confirm their identity.
‘Giving users more confidence that their matches are authentic is one of the most valuable things we can do for our users,’ said Rory Kozoll, SVP Product Integrity at Tinder.
From spring in the UK and Brazil and summer in the US and Mexico, users will be able to get their blue checkmark by submitting both a video selfie and an image of their ID
Catfishing has been a problem for online dating as long as the internet has been around.
In fact, research by ExpressVPN revealed that a staggering 22 per cent of Britons have fallen victim to catfishing in their lifetime.
Part of the reason this has become common is how easy it can be to create a fake account on many dating apps.
Without the use of ID or video verification, scammers have easily been able to take pictures from social media or even Google images to create fictitious personalities.
However, Tinder says that its new verification system will help make dating safer for people on the app.
Expanding on the existing video verification option, users will now be invited to scan a valid driving licence or passport.
Tinder says that the new option will roll out to users in the UK and Brazil from spring while users in the US and Mexico will have access to the new option from the summer.
And, Tinder says that there is a good incentive to go through this process.
According to its own statistics, when this feature was piloted in Australia and New Zealand last year, verified accounts saw a 67 per cent increase in matches.
Pamela Zaballa, CEO of domestic and sexual violence charity NO MORE said: ‘People want to feel safe and confident when connecting and communicating with their matches.’
‘We applaud Tinder for giving users this additional option to help confirm their match is the person in their profile.’
Tinder says that the new measures will make the app safer and help verified users get more matches
To get your account verified – and receive a blue check mark like on Twitter – select the ‘Verify your profile’ option from your profile page.
You’ll then be prompted to choose from either photo or photo and ID verification.
You will then need to provide a video selfie and a photo of a government-issued ID to get verified.
This will provide confirmation of key details such as date of birth and likeness.
Users who only use the video verification will have a blue camera icon and users who only complete ID verification will receive a blue ID.
Only those users who have both a photo and ID verification will receive a blue checkmark next to their profile.
This update follows the highly publicised scandals of a handful of particularly prolific Tinder scammers.
Most notably, the so-called ‘Tinder Swindler’ Shimon Heyada Hayut conned women out of around £7.4 million in total by pretending to be a multi-millionaire.
However, Tinder hopes that this will make it safer for users to meet each out in the real world.
Ted Bunch, chief development officer of educational charity A Call To Men, says: ‘We believe ID Verification is an important tool users can adopt to help prove they are the person in their photos as well as help provide some peace of mind when deciding to meet someone off the app.’
