Hinge to Fight Romance Scammers With Video Profile Verification | #lovescams | #datingapps

Dating app Hinge is cracking down on romance scammers with a new profile-verification feature.

Rolling out next month, the optional Selfie Verification function will allow users to take an in-app video confirming they’re a real person and not a deepfake.

Parent company Match Group plans to use a combination of machine learning and human moderators to compare facial geometries from the video selfie to photos on the user’s profile, according to Wired(Opens in a new window). Once their clip is certified, the user earns a “Verified” badge on their Hinge profile, giving others the peace of mind that they’re probably not being catfished.

“At Hinge, our team utilizes a series of AI and machine learning tools that proactively remove potentially fraudulent accounts before a user ever sees them or before harm can occur,” a company spokesperson said in a statement emailed to PCMag.

That includes automatic scans of profiles for red-flag language; device fingerprinting and photo hashing; manual reviews of suspicious profiles, activity, and user reports; as well as blocking of email and IP addresses and other identifiers associated with known bad actors.

Selfie Verification should reach all Hinge users worldwide by December—just in time to find a date to your office Christmas party. Match Group, meanwhile, is preparing to launch photographic verification for Hinge, OKCupid, and Match.com.

The move follows a recent Wired(Opens in a new window) report on the uptick of fake Hinge accounts featuring photos of attractive people who “just joined” the dating app, but describe themselves nonsensically and urge matches to move off the platform (for fear they will be found out and banned).