Tinder, long the most “anything goes” of the mainstream dating apps, is no longer a haven for catfishers. Effective today, the app will begin rolling out new safety measures, including a photo verification system that will allow users to take a real-time selfie to prove they look like their profile pics.
The new verification system will allow users to earn a blue checkmark proving they verified their photos by taking a selfie that matches a model’s pose in a sample image. The real time selfies are then reviewed by Tinder’s community team, which is composed of actual humans right now, though Tinder reportedly plans to eventually pass those duties off to a software-driven verification system.
As the Verge noted, Tinder is actually behind some of its competitors when it comes to implementing photo verification. Bumble launched a similar system all the way back in 2016, while newer apps like S’More require users to verify their photos with a real-time selfie as part of their initial profile setup.
Meanwhile, while such selfie-verification systems may increase your odds of ending up on a date with a real person who actually looks like their profile pics, they’re by no means a comprehensive failsafe against all degrees of catfishing. As the Verge noted, it’s still possible (and in fact, likely) for users to die their hair, grow facial hair, gain or lose weight, etc. between the time they verified their initial pics and whenever it is you happen to match with them, and Tinder has not revealed how often, if ever, users will be required to renew their photo verification with an updated selfie.
Other new features Tinder’s rolling out include a system to flag potentially offensive messages and give their recipient the option to report the sender, as well as a partnership with safety app Noonlight that will sync with Tinder and allow daters to summon assistance in the event of a date-night emergency — presumably ones of a more serious nature than your date suggesting you dine at Applebees or not shutting up about CrossFit.
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