Dating App Safety: 2023 Priority

Over the past few years we have seen a global uptake in the use of dating apps - and there's no signs of slowing down. In fact, by 2026 there will be 500,000,000 online dating users globally with almost $5 billion in revenue. Now it won't surprise you to hear that we think meeting in person at a speed dating or singles event is far more enjoyable and rewarding them using a dating app. That does not mean however that we discourage people using dating apps alongside dating events.

The truth is the more opportunities you give yourself to meet someone the more likely it is that you will. But with this influx of users and the new virtual world of dating showing no signs of slowing down, it has made safety more important than ever before. Generally, one of the benefits of attending our events is that you can meet people in a safe and secure environment. There is no worry of catfishing or not knowing who it is you are really talking too. With our hosts on hand, anyone making people feel uncomfortable will be asked to leave immediately. In some cases, if there behaviour is out of line they will be banned from attending any future events. We also have the details of all attendees if complaints need to be made.

Unfortunately, with many dating apps there is a giant flaw in their security process. In fact, it wouldn't be melodramatic to say that they are bordering on dangerous in many cases. Most of the background checks are thin, and that is if they have them at all, and with basic vetting processes, the chance of potentially dangerous people entering the online dating world is extremely high.

That said, user verification and background checks are not that simple. Allowing anyone to join and being inclusive is, of course, a goal of any brand. Yet, without verification and reputation checks in place, dating apps are at risk of allowing anyone to say anything and be anyone they want to be - often without scrutinizing whether it's platform appropriate. Bots are also becoming more problematic. Engagements between users on dating apps can be driven by bots and many people are unknowingly communicating with fake users: in essence, not real people.

Not everyone who joins a dating app does so to find romance. For some people, it's far more opportunistic and cynical - a chance to join and take advantage of others. Most commonly, this includes defrauding users out of money. It has been found that people are more likely to meet someone who will try to defraud them on a dating app than in any other walk of life. Both dating industry professionals and many people using apps are aware that the risk of scams, harassment and harm on these apps is growing. This has driven the need for industry-wide change.

In a recent survey, more than 1 in 4 survey respondents have been defrauded of money by someone using a fraudulent of misleading profile on a dating apps; about 3 in 10 have been hurt by someone using a fake profile; almost half of the survey say they have been tricked by the person's profile; and 40% of people agreed that 'it's important to look your best online even if it's misleading or distorting reality'.

In 2019 romance scams ranked number 1 on a list complied of online fraud claims. Fast forward to 2022, the FBI no less reported over 1,800 complaints related to online romance scams and fraudulent activity, resulting in over $133 million lost to digital criminals.

Now these figures aren't to scare you into deleting all your apps. As mentioned, we believe using them alongside our events will give you the best possible opportunity of meeting someone. But the figures are still quite alarming and show there is clearly a problem that isn't going away anytime soon. By allowing the problem to continue, dating apps put their members at risk which could result in increasing criminal activity and members stopping dating completely due to bad experiences. This obviously doesn't help us either.

Identifying concerns regarding these platforms can be exceptionally simple. The issue lies with transparency and verification. Anyone using a dating app should be able to verify that the person they are communicating with is who they say they are. This will reduce the risk of talking to an online criminal - or even a bot.

Flaws withit dating apps can usually be found by automatically running background and reputation checks for all of it's members. Doing this would allow the app to identify and prevent criminals including habitual sex offenders and violent people from joining. So we would encourage anyone using a dating app to contact the app directly and put pressure on them to put these things in place. It may cost them extra money but they owe it to their customers to host safe platforms where there users can interact with other people.

Of course, if all this talk of dating apps and the perils of using them (you probably didn't need us to tell you they suck) has made you want to delete them but you don't know how you would go about dating without them....then you've come to the right place.

Part of why True Dating was formed was very much because of the reasons stated above and problems that arise when using dating apps. Speed dating and singles events are by no means perfect, and they can't gurantee finding love. But at the very least we believe the dating experience should be safe and responsible and our events are tailored to be just that.

Check out our events, book a ticket and see for youself: www.truedating.co.uk/Events