Tinder introduces mandatory facial verification for new users

Tinder is starting to implement mandatory facial verification for new users of the service. Starting Monday, the innovation will start working in California, USA. This is reported by Axios.

The dating service is trying to reduce the number of profiles that impersonate other people, while also trying to improve the trust and security of its service amid growing user frustration.

The Face Check feature will require users to take a short video during which their face will be scanned to verify that the person is real and match the video to profile photos. This will use technology from FaceTec, which will also perform the verification.

In addition to verifying the identity, the feature will also check whether a similar face has appeared on other accounts. If users successfully pass all the criteria, a corresponding confirmation note will appear on their profile. The videos themselves will be deleted after verification, but only an encrypted facial scan will be stored to prevent the creation of fakes in the future.

Tinder currently uses ID Check, which requires new users to show a government-issued photo ID to verify age and identity. Face Check will work separately from that feature.

"We see this as one part of a set of identity assurance options that are available to users," says Yoel Roth, head of trust and safety at Tinder's parent company, Match Group. "Face Check ... is really meant to be about confirming that this person is a real, live person and not a bot or a spoofed account."

In addition to California, Face Check is also available in Colombia and Canada. Roth said the implementation of this check has helped reduce the number of malicious and fake accounts. Based on the California review, a decision will be made whether to expand the new feature to more regions.