Tinder Users Must Start Logging In With Their Faces, Starting Nationwide

US Tinder users will discover a new feature when they open the dating app starting Wednesday: a mandatory Face Check on their phone will be required before they can log into their profile.

The Face Check stage will begin with another request to record a video of your face, a more casual version of setting up Apple’s Face ID login. Tinder will then run checks comparing your face data to your current profile photos and automatically create a small face badge for your profile. We already know how it works, as Tinder has already launched the feature in Canada and California before the full US rollout.

The technology, powered by FaceTec, will retain the user’s facial biometric data in encrypted form but delete the digitized video for privacy reasons. Tinder will be able to use facial data to detect duplicate accounts, with the aim of reducing fake profiles and identity theft.

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Tinder’s facial recognition rollout is also designed to prevent catfishing or people pretending to be someone else on Tinder to scam or blackmail them. But it also reveals a deeper problem with the rise of dating apps: A growing number of bots, many of them controlled by AI, are designed to glean personal information or trick users into signing up for fraudulent subscriptions, among other problems.

Tinder is working against these bots on several fronts, including this Face Check campaign as well as ID verification, which requires a government-issued ID and other types of photo verification.

The dating app also recently released a feature in June to allow double dates with your friends, which Tinder says is particularly popular with Gen Z users. If you’re worried about the latest dangers on Tinder, we have a guide to safety practices.

A Tinder representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment.