How ‘safe’ are we in online dating?

Jeremy Wright, the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport in the UK, is demanding answers from apps like Tinder en Grindr. Those dating apps are ever more popular with minors. Wright launched his query in light of 30 known cases of rape in the UK, as reported by British national newspaper the Sunday Times.

Minors online

The goal of the investigation is to learn whether Tinder and Grindr have any tools in place to verify the ages of their users. And if tools are being used, the query aims to uncover which ones. When using applications like Tinder or Grindr to help you find love, you definitely need to exercise caution. One strong piece of advice is to determine whether the other party is a legal adult. Many users aren’t aware that minors are active on these platforms. As an adult, finding romance with a minor can lead to very serious consequences, even if it wasn’t your intention to approach anyone who is underage.

Until now, it has been very easy to join a dating application as a minor. The current tools used to determine a user’s age are very simple to bypass. One example is using a Facebook account that lists your age as over 18 years old and linking that to your account on Tinder. That’s how easy it is to access the 18+ category as a minor. Of course, that access comes with a tremendous amount of risk.

The solution

There are quite a few potential solutions which Grindr and Tinder could apply to eliminate those risks. One option is to conduct ID-Checks via a Secure ID Link. That way they can verify any individual’s real age. An ID-Selfie can also determine whether someone really is who they claim to be.

Offering a safe online user experience

The online world offers endless opportunities for people to connect to one another. However, they can easily behave and portray themselves differently than they really are. And that is something we aim to prevent. By applying the newest methods of security, we are standing up against identity fraud. Do you wonder how you as an organisation can fight identity fraud? Check out the DataChecker solutions or contact one of our specialists.