How To Prevent Catfishing: A Dating App Makes You Take Selfies
Chances are, if you've ever used a dating app, you're a little too familiar with fake profiles. As a straight woman, I don't come across them all too much, but my male friends all tell me stories of thinking they matched with a mega-babe only to have her ask them to wire "her" money seven messages in. Kind of funny, sure, but mainly disappointing.
Dating app Bumble, which revolutionized online dating by asking women to make the first move, has long been accused of manufacturing fake profiles. The company has always firmly denied any shady business, and this next step further proves they really have all the receipts.
Starting this week, Bumble will be asking its users to take a selfie to prove their identity. New users will have to submit a selfie when making a profile, and existing users have the option to submit one for a verification badge.
Don't think you can just post any regular cheesy selfie, either. The app will roll out over 100 different selfie prompts, each of which will vary from user to user. And unless you have quite the backlog of selfies on your camera roll, you probably won't be able to fake a "peace sign with left eye closed" pose. The selfie will then be cross-referenced with your profile photos by a moderator, and then either approved or not.
If selfies aren't really your thing, don't worry: the app doesn't store any photos taken, nor will it force you to use them as your profile photo. I don't know about you, but I need at least three different filters to look Bumble-worthy.
The new measure is meant to prevent catfishing and continue to make Bumble one of the safest (and, in my personal experience, one of the best) dating apps out there.
