Tinder is expanding ID verification to the US, UK, Brazil, and Mexico

Tinder is expanding its identity verification program to users in the US, UK, Brazil and Mexico announced on Tuesday. This program serves as an additional step for users to confirm the authenticity of their profile on the dating app and receive a blue verified checkmark. Tinder plans to make the feature available in the US and Mexico by summer, and in the UK and Brazil by spring.

The expansion of the feature comes as artificial intelligence is making it harder to determine what is real and what is fake. It also comes as the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reported last year Romance scams lost $1.3 billion to victims in 2022, while the average loss was $4,400.

Tinder piloted an identity verification program in Australia and New Zealand for the first time. The company found that users who completed the ID verification option saw a 67% increase in matches compared to those who did not complete verification.

To verify your identity in the app, you must provide a video selfie and a valid driver’s license or passport. A third-party vendor will check to see if the face in the video selfie matches both the photo on the ID as well as the person’s profile photo. The date of birth on the ID will also be checked in the verification process.

Image Credit: tinder

The ID verification tool should not be confused with Tinder’s photo verification feature, which allows users to prove to others that they are not a bot or catfish. When Tinder first launched photo verification, it required users to take photos of themselves according to instructions in order to get verified on the dating app. However, last year, Tinder strengthened the process Video selfies are required instead of photos.

Tinder now says only users who complete the app photo verification Will now receive a blue camera icon badge, while only users who complete ID verification will receive a blue ID icon badge. Users who complete both ID verification and photo verification will receive a blue checkmark.

By adding ID verification to the dating app, Tinder aims to help users feel more confident that they’re talking to a real person rather than a scammer or catfish.

Today’s announcement isn’t really a surprise, as Tinder announced it in 2021 planned to make Voluntary ID verification will be available globally in the future. The company has been developing its identity verification tool for years, as it first launched it in 2019 in Japan, where verification is mandated by law. It makes sense for Tinder to expand ID verification to more countries, especially as AI scams and romance scams are on the rise.