Tinder is doubling down on digital safety and ‘catfishing’, a problem on modern dating apps, with the nationwide rollout of its new facial verification feature, Face Check™, designed to confirm that users are real and that their photos truly represent them. Parent company Match Group announced the technology is already required for new users in seven countries and California. Face Check will roll out to additional U.S. states in the coming months.
Face Check uses a short video selfie to verify both the presence and identity of a user, ensuring that they’re a real person and that their appearance matches their profile photos. Once verified, users receive Tinder’s signature Photo Verified badge, signalling to others that their profile has passed the app’s authenticity check. The system also scans for repeated use of the same face across multiple accounts, adding another layer of protection against impersonation and fake profiles, problems that have long plagued online dating platforms.
Early international testing has shown a striking 60% drop in exposure to potential bad actors, a 40% decline in user reports of suspicious behavior, and noticeable improvements in overall trust and confidence among members.
“We’re strengthening and accelerating our investments in trust and safety,” said Spencer Rascoff, CEO of Match Group and head of Tinder. “Face Check reflects our commitment to responsible innovation — it builds trust, supports a healthy community, and helps people connect with confidence.”
According to Yoel Roth, Match Group’s Head of Trust & Safety, the system sets a new standard for the industry. “Face Check is perhaps the most impactful safety feature I’ve seen in my 15-year career,” he said. “It tackles one of the hardest problems online – knowing whether someone is real – in a way that’s seamless for genuine users and challenging for bad actors to bypass.”
Privacy remains central to the feature’s design. Tinder says video selfies are deleted shortly after verification, while only an encrypted, non-reversible facial map is stored to detect fraud and prevent duplicate accounts.
Following its U.S. expansion, Match Group plans to bring Face Check to more of its dating apps in 2026, continuing a strategy that uses technology, design, and accountability to reshape what authenticity means in online dating.
As digital identity evolves, bold moves — such as Match Group’s decision to make face-liveness detection mandatory for U.S. users of Tinder — underscore the urgency of trusted credentials in consumer-facing contexts. At Identity Week Europe 2026, industry leaders will explore how such practical applications of biometrics, verification and privacy converge with national identity infrastructure to shape the next generation of identity ecosystems across Europe. Sessions include “Biometric Use Cases” and “Beyond the Face, Finger, and Iris” with speakers hailing from government, industry and enterprise.
