In 2025, Tinder introduced Face Check, forcing new members to submit selfies to prove their humanity. Now, more than a dozen major dating apps use face recognition, relying on liveness checks, 3D authentication, video selfies, or biometric ID. But while these measures combat fraud, they raise questions about privacy and security.

The issue of fake accounts isn’t unique to Tinder. A 2025 FBI report found that US romance scams cost over $4 billion, prompting every dating platform to adopt stricter authentication tools. With 98% of moderation actions focused on fake accounts, chatfishing, and spam, the industry is moving towards mandatory face verification.

Companies like Tools for Humanity are pushing for ID verification tech. World ID, their iris-scanning system, offers a 'verified human' badge after users scan their eyes with an orb device. However, critics argue that biometric data is a privacy risk. Security researcher Katie Moussouris says, 'Normalizing the idea that a face scan provides any assurance of identity or age is security theater.'

Professor Woodrow Hartzog warns that facial recognition is the most dangerous surveillance tool ever created. He believes existing privacy laws are not equipped to handle biometric verification, suggesting less invasive options should be used where possible.

Utah’s State-Endorsed Digital Identity law, which went into effect in May, is one of the first attempts to address this. It limits data requests to what is absolutely necessary and establishes a 'duty of loyalty' for platforms and providers to avoid practices that conflict with an individual’s best interests.