Top safety features for dating sites to protect users from scams
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How can you keep your users safe on your dating site? What are the most important features you need to have? How can you make your dating site as safe as possible while still getting the most out of it? In this guide, we’ll go over the top online dating safety features that will help you protect your users from online dating scams and other dangers on your site, and how can you design your own dating website or app with those safety features.
Online dating can be fun and exciting, but it can also come with its share of risks if you’re not careful. For example, you might find yourself falling in love with someone who doesn’t really exist, or your data could end up being stolen by unscrupulous people looking to steal your money or your identity. Skadate takes online dating security very seriously, which is why we’re highlighting these top online dating safety features to protect your users from these and other dangers out there in the digital world.
The Importance of Safety Features
With so many people using online dating apps and sites these days, it’s important that you don’t neglect their safety features. After all, one of your goals should be to keep them on your platform for as long as possible—not scare them away! A good way to go about doing that is by making sure you have safety features in place. These are options that alert users if someone else reports a profile or a certain kind of inappropriate behavior (like sending harassing messages). Not only do these features help prevent predatory users from hurting your community but they also give everyone peace of mind when participating on your site. Always remember, safety is paramount! One good way to make sure it stays that way is by creating some robust safety features like the following examples.
Who Viewed the Profile
Seeing who viewed one's profile gives users an idea of who is interested in them and offers a feeling of protection from online dating scams. For example, when looking at a potential date's profile, one can look at who viewed their profile. If they see someone they know, they may be more likely to trust that person and give him or her a chance. However, if they recognize their coworker as someone who has viewed their profile, they may realize their coworker has been checking out other people as well and might not feel comfortable giving them a shot. Automated texts and emails can be sent to a user whenever something important happens on their account, such as someone messaging them or viewing their profile so that they can stay informed about their own dating profile. Since most scammers or predators will view someone’s profile before contacting them, it’s important for users to be aware of who is viewing their profiles so they can make informed decisions about whom they want to connect with.
Password-Protection Option
Passwords are a top online dating safety feature as well. Keeping your dating site free of scammers who have created phony profiles is crucial, and password-protected accounts go a long way in that regard. Creating a password-protected option will also encourage people to put more time into creating their profiles, which will make them feel more invested in your site. Of course, you don’t want to make it so difficult for users that they give up or struggle with creating their accounts but having an extra barrier can help discourage scammers and make it easier for real members to form stronger connections on your dating site.
A password-protected option and security questions go a long way in keeping scams at bay, both because it encourages members to create full profiles and makes it harder for people trying to set up fake profiles. A key aspect of your online dating platform is making sure everyone feels safe within it; adding something as simple as requiring new member passwords goes a long way towards that goal. As mentioned above, though, ensure you strike a balance between usability and security so as not to dissuade new users from signing up. It’s always worth running A/B tests around these features – especially ones requiring additional effort – to determine what balances best with member satisfaction while keeping protection levels high. Trial and error will be key when developing your own dating website or app.
Customizable Profile Status
To feel safe and in control of their own online dating journey, users need the option of making their profile public or private and easily being able to change that. While we're often told to put ourselves out there and take a chance on love, the truth is that public profiles come with risks. Users need to be able to protect themselves by making their profile private or for only friends they approve to see it so scammers can't use it to attempt to find them or extort money from them. Many popular online dating platforms do offer the option of keeping your profile private for free. If your online dating site or app does not offer the option, consider charging a nominal fee for that privacy feature instead. It’s also important that changing one’s profile status is quick and easy so they can make changes right away.
For example, they may begin dating someone exclusively and want to put their profile in private mode but they may choose to make it public again if and when they are ready to date others in the future. In addition to making this option available, make it easy to find too! Don’t let your users get frustrated trying to weed through extensive and confusing pages of settings. Keep it simple and communicate that the option is readily available to them to increase their peace of mind and keep them feeling confident on your site or app.
Photo Verification
Even for dating sites that use photo verification, it is still important for users to be aware of photos from other profiles. For example, if you're contacted by a match who claims his name is John Smith but shows you a picture of Johnny Depp, something isn't right. And even after photo verification is implemented, users can still be fooled by online scammers using stock images that match their target's gender. That's why using something like facial recognition systems to scan users' Facebook albums and link potential matches with corresponding profile photos is helpful, for example.
This kind of advanced feature might not be appropriate for all sites, but there are plenty of simple ways to protect your users while also providing them with options they like. You can also require a live selfie to be taken to verify photos or require an ID card to be uploaded in the backend of your site. However, you do it, before some kind of photo verification is firmly in place on your site or app.
Private Virtual Gifts
Virtual gifts aren’t your average Christmas or birthday present, they’re a way for users to gift each other with presents (usually virtual coins) in their dating app. This feature is highly recommended for any dating app as it protects your users from online dating scams such as catfishing and hidden payments. It also makes for a great monetization strategy and it allows you to add more of a game element within your app. So how do private virtual gifts work? Let’s break it down! With virtual gifts, sending and receiving are two separate actions. To send a gift, first you need to purchase some gifts with real money or another currency that you can exchange into virtual coins within your site or app. Then, once inside your site, users will navigate to someone's profile and click on something like “send” next to their username. They will then be prompted to choose a gift type which may include things like virtual hearts, flowers, wine bottles etc. If you have enough coins then you will be able to select one of these items but if not then you will have to purchase them before being able to complete the transaction. Providing this option will help prevent users from exchanging personal information like addresses or bank account information for gifts which can be very risky and dangerous, whether or not someone is a scammer.
Private Groups Option
Having a private groups option in your dating app or website can help avoid awkward situations. Private groups let users create smaller online communities within a larger one and prevent people from being bombarded with messages from complete strangers all day long. For example, if you want to meet someone who shares your interests, you might join a group for book lovers or parents. You could then message other group members privately. They won’t see that message until they take an action and specifically opt in by either turning on notifications for your chat or accepting your request to chat. It’s similar to how texting works; users have their own chats and don’t see information from others unless they want to—it helps keep things more focused on individual conversations as opposed to mass messaging everyone at once.
Examples from the Pros: Dating Safety Experience from Top Dating Services
As of 2020, a study by Statista, over 44 million Americans are using dating websites and it only continues to grow! The dating industry is booming and with such rapid growth and competition, there’s bound to be some innovative thinking when it comes to safety features and online dating scams. Make sure you’re on the cutting edge by offering top-notch safety features that set you apart from the crowd. Let’s take a look at some of the innovative ways top dating platforms keep their users safe to inspire you to develop your own dating website or app well.
Hinge's Limiting Matches
Hinge has safety features that protect their users, such as limiting matches. By limiting the number of potential matches, Hinge is able to ensure each user can focus on the best matches in his or her area. By doing so, they're helping protect their users from catfishing and scammers and other dangers associated with online dating. And while Hinge's model has received some criticism over recent years (some people believe it limits you to too few options), there's a good chance the feature still serves them well today; when only looking at limited matches per day, it's easy for Hinge users who are genuinely interested in meeting others an opportunity to pursue those connections.
Tinder's Traveler Alert
Tinder has introduced a feature called Traveler Alert. Basically, when users are traveling in areas where they may be in danger because of their sexual orientation, Tinder will alert them and tell them how many other users are also in danger. If a user's Traveler Alert level reaches danger, they are advised not to travel there and Tinder can automatically hide their profile. It's an excellent example of an online dating safety feature that provides valuable information for the LGBT+ community and puts them on high alert about dangerous situations before they even arrive in those cities. Online dating safety features should always provide information that enables users to make safe decisions for themselves and helps companies protect their most vulnerable users from potential harm by predators or criminals seeking out victims by location or identities.
Spectrum's Prevention of Underage Users & Sex Trafficking Detecting
Many dating sites are effective at preventing underage users from signing up, but even if a site does have a system in place to keep minors off their platform, it’s not always enough. In fact, some of these sites will allow users as young as 14 years old to sign up if they lie about their age. This presents a problem for parents who want to keep their children safe online—they may think that these websites are monitored and well regulated when in reality they aren’t. To protect users from human trafficking and underage dating-related crimes, your website or app should have strict age minimums in place with a way to verify it. Spectrum offers software that analyzes and scans messages between users to detect sexual grooming, traps, find underage users, and more to help you keep your users safe. Investing in an option like this is very important and can help save many from the potential harms of predatory behavior online.
The Importance of Terms of Use/Service
Every user signs off on terms of use when they start using a website or app—but very few of us actually read them. This can be problematic for dating apps and websites, which have unique security risks that you may not have considered. Before moving forward with your new app or website, it’s important to ensure that you have a Terms of Use/Service (ToS/ToU) system in place. Don’t forget about your users; you don’t want to come back and apologize for an oversight down the road. When thinking about ToS/ToU systems, think through how you want your users to behave on your app or website—how can you protect them? There are plenty of tools out there designed to help you build a Terms of Service agreement specifically for your online dating site or app. A good tool will give you options to include specific safety features as well as keep up with any updates made by Google or Apple. There are several ways Skadate can help you make your app safer—contact us if you're interested in learning more or getting started.
How Skadate Can Help You Implement Safety Features for Your Dating App or Website
Skadate offers a wide variety of features for dating websites and apps that are designed to help protect users from online scams and other safety concerns. We offer an array of special features that can enhance your site or app with additional security, including real-time fraud detection and prevention, geolocation services, multilayer authentication systems, payment gateway integration and more. Skadate’s specialized set of high-tech tools can give you everything you need in order to create a dating website or app with some very powerful safety features – especially if yours is one of many online platforms at risk of becoming involved in a scammer ring.
Our expertise and experience allow us to guide you through each step of development so that you can take advantage of all these technologies. Let us know how we can help! Our team will be happy to answer any questions about our services or products, as well as discuss any specifics regarding your upcoming project. We’re always happy to work closely with our clients on projects big and small – we have thousands of developers on staff who specialize in every aspect of mobile app development. And we guarantee top quality work because all projects go through a thorough process before being delivered to our clients. You’ll get exactly what you want every time – no exceptions! Contact us today about getting started on your site or app or adding dating safety features to your existing platform.
How can you keep your users safe on your dating site? What are the most important features you need to have? In this guide, we’ll go over the top online dating safety features that will help you protect your users from online dating scams
Alexa is a sure-handed digital marketing person who helps small and middle-size businesses to grow online. She believes that a well-thought SEO strategy, smart targeting, and communication strategy could skyrocket any business.
