Yoti is teaming with DateID to make online dating safer for people of all ages. DateID was created to address the fact that a full 50 percent of online daters do not trust the information they read in other user profiles on most dating apps.

In that regard, the two companies note that it is incredibly easy to create a fake profile on most dating platforms, and that there are virtually no meaningful consequences for doing so. That can lead to a lot of bad dates when people misrepresent themselves in their profiles, but it can also lead to more serious problems like identity fraud and catfishing when bad actors take advantage of the emotional vulnerability and trust required for online dating, with over a thousand cases reported to the FBI on a monthly basis.

“In our survey of more than 450 online daters, we found that 95 percent of users Googled each other before agreeing to meet. The problem is, even the best online sleuthing can’t catch everything,” explained DateID Founder and CEO Remy Tennant. “DateID gives online daters a fast, easy and effective way to screen each other before agreeing to meet.” 

DateID specifically allows users to verify the identities of the people they’re considering. Through the partnership with Yoti, anyone who confirms their own identity with a Yoti account will be given Gold Status, letting potential prospects know that their date is indeed the person they claim to be.

Yoti has previously been used for age verification on multiple social media and dating apps, including Yubo and The Meet Group. It’s also worth noting that DateID is based in the US, which suggests that Yoti is starting to expand its footprint beyond its native UK.