Safeguard your dating platform with Age Validation

Online dating is booming, with an expected 384 million people participating in it in 2023 and over 21% of the US population using online dating platforms in some way. However, such large numbers attracts criminals who are happy to exploit the emotions involved with romantic relationships, scamming users to obtain their money or property.

Big business for fraudsters

This is big business for fraudsters; according to the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC), nearly 70,000 people reported a romance scam in 2022, with reported losses hitting $1.3 billion. The median loss reported was $4,400.

And it’s not just a financial issue. Some fraudsters will not hesitate to build fake profiles as a route to sexual assault. This threat grows even darker if underage users can access your platform.

All of this is why companies must ensure their services are not exploited by sexual predators, and they must guard against young users accessing services that are intended for adults. 

Ensuring that your users are age-appropriate

Age validation is a vital demand for businesses in every sector online. It also helps in the fight against fraud. This has been a key focus for Veriff in a range of sectors, such as the gambling industry.

In order to meet legal demands, protect their customers and maintain brand reputation, it is vital that online dating sites and apps ensure their users are above a defined age limit. By building a safe community, they will ensure their site grows in popularity – and realize potential opportunities in areas like affiliate marketing. 

Keeping customers safe reliably leads to  improved customer retention and cuts user churn. This can be achieved through age validation solutions; fraud checks; biometric authentication; and in certain cases, fast and easy-to-use IDV. 

The right age validation approach ensures that only age-appropriate users can assess your services. How does it work? Veriff’s approach checks the user’s government-issued ID. The date of birth is used to confirm that the person is the specified age (over 18, for instance) at that moment in time. Anyone below the threshold age will be declined. 

Additionally, Veriff’s Age Estimation solution uses facial biometric analysis to estimate a user’s age without requiring the user to provide an identity document. This low-friction solution will enable you to convert more users faster.

Age Estimation

The user takes a quick selfie. Veriff's real-time feedback can guide the user in case of any issues while taking the photo. The selfie is quickly analyzed by Veriff, and our AI-powered technology provides an estimated age in seconds. Liveness and fraud checks are performed in real time so that you can approve genuine users. Finally, Veriff sends you the user’s estimated age which enables you to make the decision to allow, deny, or request additional age verification for age-restricted goods or services.

Age Validation

This takes part over a three-stage process that is quick and convenient for the customer. The user takes a picture of their ID and a selfie. Veriff then verifies the document’s authenticity and extracts the date of birth, confirming the person’s liveness and their similarity to the photo in the document. The data and decision are then returned to the dating platform provider. 

The approach can be adapted as needed. For example, the dating site/app provider might not want to pursue age checks using an IDV process that uses government-issued ID. In this case, it is vital to combine security with respect for local demands and requirements. Veriff’s upcoming Age Estimation solution could help, offering the ability to confirm a user’s age through the biometric characteristics in a selfie image. 

Book a consultation

We can support your brand in identity verification, regulatory compliance and more, using cutting-edge biometrics and automated technology to ensure only the right people have access to your platform. Our approach can be tailored to your needs, ensuring you meet security demands while respecting customer needs on data extraction and use. 

If you would like to learn more, reach out to book a personalized demo.