Tinder has started a test with a new form of verification. The video feature is called “Selfie Verification” and is currently rolling out to both iOS and Android users in select test markets.
To verify that users are who they say they are, Tinder introduced photo verification in 2020. This feature allows users to authenticate themselves through a series of real-time posed selfies (photos), which are compared to existing profile photos using human-assisted AI technology. Profiles verified in this way are given a blue check mark so that other users can trust their authenticity. Selfie Verification goes one step further and uses a selfie video with a biometric and ‘liveness’ check to verify a user’s authenticity.
Tinder itself calls the Selfie Verification a “new video-based Photo Verification v2 technology.” “This technology is still under development and not available to all Tinder members at this time,” Tinder said in a new help page describing the feature. The verification is done with technology from FaceTec, a company that specialises in facial authentication, according to code from the Tinder app (Android). Despite the fact that the partnership has not yet been officially announced, FaceTec itself confirms on its website that Tinder uses the technology.
The advantage of FaceTec technology over current photo verification is that it is not based on 2D photos, but on 3D images. The technology also tests whether the correct user is physically present by matching them with their photo ID or 3D FaceMap created from the profile photos.
The physical presence is an extra measure to prevent scammers from showing images of a person who is not present. Called the ‘Liveness Check’, this check scans the face in your video and can confirm that the video was shot by a real, living person and that it has not been digitally altered or tampered with. For example, holding a photo of someone in front of the camera is not possible for verification.
3D Face Authentication detects your face in the video selfie and profile pictures. The software captures the facial geometries using facial recognition technology and then generates a unique number or facial geometry ‘template’. These templates are used to check if the person in your video selfie is the same person as in your profile pictures.
FaceTec’s AI would also be able to create a 3D age estimate for each verified user, allowing potential minors to be flagged by the app. In addition to verifying authenticity, the software could therefore also be a tool to exclude underage users.