Online Personals Watch: News on the Online Dating Industry and Business

Rising Threat of Catfishing: Understanding and Combating Online Identity Deception

CNN - Catfishing, where a person creates a false online identity to deceive others is a growing issue in the digital age. Common motives include lack of confidence, the desire to explore sexual preferences, or engage in relationships outside of real-life constraints. Studies reveal that catfish are often educated men, sometimes from religious backgrounds, and may exhibit traits of sadism, psychopathy, and narcissism. In the U.S., romance scams from catfishing have led to significant financial losses, with $740M lost in 2022 alone. The UK and Singapore also report high losses from romance fraud. Financial losses are particularly high among older victims. Cybersecurity experts suggest vigilance in online interactions to spot potential catfish, such as inconsistencies in stories and reluctance to meet or video call.

by Sen Nguyen
See full article at CNN

Mark Brooks: The key thing that we aim to deliver with online dating services is real people. That's what users pay for - Introductions to real people that will do them no harm. Most quality dating apps have an arsenal of tools to weed out rogues and catfish. Both internal and external. I would like to recommend to you the dating-context-specific tool RealMe. RealMe is an easy-to-integrate platform to protect your users and build trust through simple user verification and seamless background checks - all while providing a new revenue stream. They are a long-term supporter of OPW and my team and I have worked closely with them so their service is specific for dating. Please email me directly and it will be my pleasure to introduce you to them.

Dating Safety: Cost or Revenue, After-thought or By-design and How the Garbo Experiment Actually Proved the Model - Neil Davis, CBO of RealMe

LTR - Neil Davis, CBO of RealMe, delves into the dichotomy of dating safety as a cost or revenue opportunity in his presentation. He challenges the conventional view of safety as a mere expense, suggesting that prioritizing it can lead to increased user engagement and revenue. Davis cites the decline of Spark Networks, emphasizing the real-world impact of safety issues on dating platforms. RealMe offers user verification and background checks as solutions, highlighting their role in compliance with regulations and enhancing user trust. The presentation discusses the flawed Garbo experiment, acknowledging user demand for safety measures. Davis concludes by emphasizing the revenue-generating potential of safety features, citing increased user engagement, lower churn, and higher monetization as potential benefits.

The January LTR was kindly sponsored by ParshipMeet Group, RealMe, along with Courtland Brooks and Matchmaker.com

RealMe: Enhancing Online Dating Safety With Identity Verification and Background Checks

DTLA WEEKLY - RealMe is a platform aiming to enhance safety in online dating, responding to increasing concerns over personal security and scams in the digital romance landscape. With alarming statistics like $1.3B lost to romance scams and 42% of women experiencing uncomfortable or threatening encounters, users are increasingly prioritizing safety. RealMe offers a solution by verifying user identities through phone numbers, providing background checks, and revealing public records, thus addressing the issue of fake profiles and catfish. This approach seeks to restore trust between users and dating platforms, integrating seamlessly into dating apps and emphasizing user safety and authenticity.

by Keri Freeman
See full article at DTLA Weekly

See full article at RealMe

Why Did Garbo Fail? Unraveling Its Unmet Potential With Match Group & Tinder

REALME - Dating apps are facing trust issues due to many fake profiles and a 800% increase in scams. Match Group incorporated Garbo in an attempt to enhance user safety, but despite its substantial user base and noble goals, it failed to deliver. Here's why Garbo failed and how RealMe could potentially fill the gaps left by Garbo.

User Experience Dilemma: Despite having 2.5M users, Garbo provided a fractured experience, forcing users to leave the primary dating platform, impacting user retention and Match's credibility.
Information Dependency: Garbo didn't work well because it needed users to know a lot about their potential matches early on, which is hard during the beginning of online interactions.
Absence of User Verification: Garbo didn't check if users were real, which is important for correct background checks.

The RealMe Solution
Integrated User Experience: By partnering with apps like Say Allo, The RealMe offers an uninterrupted, in-app experience, maintaining user engagement.
Simplified Search Process: A simple click on any profile initiates the search, with no need for users to know extensive info about their matches.
Comprehensive Background Checks: RealMe's extensive scan across 389 data sources offers a complete background check.
User Verification: The distinctive badge on profiles verified by The RealMe ensures genuine interactions and significantly reduces the risk of encountering fake users.
Ease of Integration: The service can be easily integrated into existing platforms.

Garbo's endeavor with Match Group showed there is a substantial demand for trust-building tools in online dating. However, the lack of a seamless user experience and comprehensive services hindered its success. The Real Me addresses these limitations, offering a more inclusive and robust solution. 

See full article at RealMe

DiHola Partners With RealMe and UrSafe

ACCESSWIRE - Unpack'd Technologies, the developer behind dating app DiHola for Hispanic and Latino singles, has partnered with online safety platforms RealMe and UrSafe to enhance user safety. The integrated safety features include ID verification, enhanced background checks, and various tools for personal safety both online and offline. These services will initially target DiHola's users in the U.S., Mexico, and Colombia, with a broader rollout across Latin America planned in the future.

See full article at Accesswire

See the top news on DiHola

RealMe and Unpack'd Technologies Join Forces to Eliminate Fake Profiles on Dating Apps

PR NEWSWIRE - RealMe, an online safety platform, and Unpack'd Technologies, a smart dating app developer, have partnered to eliminate fake profiles in dating apps. This move will introduce enhanced profile and background verification features, starting with the "smart dating app," Say Allo.

See full article at PR Newswire

See the top news on Say Allo
See the top news on RealMe

New US Identity and Background Legislation

OPW - In May 2022, Neil Davis, CBO of RealMe, spoke during the LTR summit about certain data protection legislation that's looming over online dating apps.

Utah HB352

• Taking effect in January 2023
• If you do business in Utah, you are either required to conduct background criminal checks on all your users whether they are in Utah or not. Or, say "We don't do background checks on our users, your safety may be at risk."
• Build Online Dating Safety Hub with safety guidelines.
• Fine - the number of your users in Utah x $250.

Connecticut Act Concerning Online Dating Operators

• Taking effect in October 2022.
• By Oct 1st you have to verify the identity of everyone on your app. Then you either do background checks and kick off people with criminal convictions or you have to say that you don't do background checks and that their safety may be at risk.
• Build Online Dating Safety Hub
• Keep data of every Connecticut for 2 years.
• Fine - $25K per instance

RealMe can verify the identity of your users using phone numbers and do background checks and reputation checks.

Florida and California are now drafting the same legislation, both to be effective in January. Read the full version here. Sound file for download here.

Mark Brooks: Neil will cover the upcoming New Jersey law which is similar to the CT law in the next Trust & Safety Connect online panel discussion on Aug 17th. Email me at [email protected] for a free seat.

The RealMe and UrSafe Partner to Expand SOS Button Technology to Dating Platforms

EIN NEWS - The RealMe SOS button powered by the UrSafe app is the world's first hands-free, voice-activated personal safety tool. Features of the SOS Button include:

• It can be triggered anytime by a designated safe word.
• It provides an easy to use, handsfree lifeline in situations where users may feel unsafe using their phone.
• Using various safe words will trigger various responses, including calls to law enforcement, friends and family.
• Friends and family can view user's location in real time including a live video stream
• Security provided in over 195 countries

See full article at Ein News

See the top news on RealMe
See the top news on UrSafe

Match Group Expands Background Checks to Match.com and Stir

CNBC - Users on Match.com, which is popular among serious daters, and Stir, which is for single parents, will now have access to screen potential dates through the apps. Match Group has been working with Garbo, a nonprofit background check platform that shows public records including arrests, convictions and sex offender registry information, since a 2021 investment in the company. Match Group then launched a pilot program with Garbo on Tinder. Each search costs $2.50 plus a 75-cent processing fee per transaction. The company declined to comment on how many people have used the service through Tinder.

by Jessica Bursztynsky
See full article at CNBC

Mark Brooks: The RealMe is also very worthy of your consideration, and bring together a large pool of background check resources from around the world. RealMe have an industry-specific offering for the dating industry and are a client of Courtland Brooks and support OPW. See dating offering.

See the top news on Match Group
See the top news on Match.com
See the top news on Stir

SmartMatchApp Partners With RealMe

GLOBE NEWSWIRE - RealMe, the online reputation platform improving trust and safety online, partners with SmartMatchApp, a matchmaking and membership customer relationship management (CRM) software. RealMe will offer added protection to SmartMatchApp's 100K users worldwide by providing access to an extensive database of ~275M verified profiles. RealMe's platform will provide rich and timely background checks on their users and thus greater safety for clients.

See full article at Globe Newswire

See the top news on RealMe

Elon Musk Wants to 'Authenticate All Real Humans' on Twitter

CNN - Elon Musk's Twitter feed states that he will "authenticate all real humans." Musk could seek to require real names on accounts or require photo id, or integration with 3rd-party services where users are already known. His pet peeve is spam accounts.

Facebook made changes to its names policy in 2015 after critics pointed out that abuse victims and other vulnerable groups had good reasons to use pseudonyms. Users can provide reasons to the company why they avoid using their real names.

by Brian Fung
See full article at CNN

Mark Brooks: Behavior changes considerably when people are anonymous. Dating platforms really need to know and assure that real humans are behind each profile, and are 'good actors.' No small task, but at least the ability to check liveness and verify someone is the same person as in their photo is easy with FaceTec. We also have the purpose-built RealMe which provides the ability to verify someone is real, and the state of their reputation and priors. (Full Disclosure: FaceTec and RealMe are clients of Courtland Brooks)

After 'Tinder Swindler' Shockwaves, Tinder Adds In-App Background Checks

MEDIA POST - Tinder is adding a $2.50 background check option to its popular dating app via Garbo, the new in-app service, which allows people to access public information about violent behavior, including arrests, convictions, and sex offender registry records. "It's been a long time coming," says Mark Brooks, CEO of Courtland Brooks, which consults with online dating apps. "Background checks have been in the works for years. But records haven't always been up to date, and there are gaps in databases." He points out that back in 2011, Match.com agreed to screen users to weed out sex offenders as part of a legal settlement. And while it did so, it didn't make that information public. Brooks says that's likely for two reasons. "First, that might give people a false sense of security. The most dangerous person is the one who hasn't been caught yet." Second, he says, it's unnerving to users who simply hadn't yet wondered if the date they just set up is with a scammer, a sex offender or an ax murderer. Visible background checks can "make people think, 'Hold on! I didn't think I'd need to do something like this!'" Brooks is a consultant to RealMe, a competitor to Garbo that helps detect fake dating profiles. For now, Garbo is only available on Tinder. But Match says it will soon roll it out to additional sites.

by Sarah Mahoney
See full article at Media Post

See the top news on Match Group
See the top news on Tinder

Q&A With Jeffrey Tinsley From RealMe

FHM - Before the pandemic began, 30% of all adults have used dating sites or apps before. Pew Research Center found that 59% of people thought online dating was a good way to meet people. So, how safe is it, and what are dating apps doing to make it safer? FHM spoke with Jeffrey Tinsley, the developer behind the RealMe software that countless dating apps have been putting into action on their platforms that gives users verification and background checks.

Q: How safe is online dating right now?
A: The risk of scams and fraud is increasing. According to Psychology Today, 84% of online daters falsify some portion of their profiles, and~10% are entirely fake. NPR recently reported that Americans lost $143M in romance scams. So a lot more needs to be done to keep people dating online safe.

Q: What things should people look for while swiping on apps that may indicate the other profile is fake, a bot or someone who has a criminal background?
A: One of the first signs a profile might be fake is that it is barely filled out and only has one or two photos. And if they send you links to check them out on another site, delete them. If the dating app partners with RealMe, they'll see the RealMe icon which tells them the truth about the person they're interested in.

Q: What future trends in dating security do you foresee happening?
A: I think there is going to be a safety shakeout. Users will start to walk away from the apps that don't take member safety seriously. One of our recent surveys showed that 9 in 10 online daters wish they could obtain more information about the person they were talking to and would be more likely to meet up with them if their profile was "verified".

Q: Which apps are "doing it right"?
A: WhiteLabelDating, a network of ~4000 dating apps. They have integrated RealMe into all of them. Two dating apps for animal lovers, Dig for dog people, and Tabby for cat people, have also partnered with RealMe. We are in talks with other dating apps.

See full article at FHM

See the top news on RealMe

MatchMde Advances Daters' Safety With New RealMe Integration

PR NEWSWIRE - RealMe, the online reputation platform, partners with MatchMde, a match-making platform that leverages technology and science to curate more authentic and meaningful matches. MatchMde will now offer its U.S. based users the ability to verify profiles, access important background information and reputation details of their matches via its new RealMe integration. RealMe's platform uses public records to source background information that can include criminal, sex offender status, personal reviews, and more to make online interactions and transactions safer.

See full article at PR Newswire

See the top news on RealMe

Venntro Media Group Integrates RealMe Background Verification

PR NEWSWIRE - Social discovery and online dating business, Venntro Media Group, has integrated RealMe, an online reputation platform, to protect their members. The RealMe platform offers background verification checks across an extensive database of ~275M profiles containing publicly available background information and reputation details.

See full article at PR Newswire

See the top news on WhiteLabelDating.com
See the top news on RealMe