Q: I'm about to go on a first date'! What advice do you have to keep me safe?

Yay! Congratulations! A first date is a big step on the way to starting a real relationship. We're rooting for you 💕 Here are a few tips to help make sure you stay safe and have fun getting to know someone new. Be safe. Arrange to meet in a public place like a café or pub ☕ – and don't give them your address just yet. Take your time to get to know each other first! Take your time getting to know your date at your own pace. Meet for a drink 🍹 first rather than a dinner: that way you can end the date quickly if you're not comfortable or you just don't click. You can always try something more original next time, or grab a bite to eat if things are going well. Dress to please you. It’s nice to look your best, but always be yourself. But don't go overboard: choose something comfortable and subtle that reflects who you are. Be spontaneous. Don't overthink what you're going to say. You already know some of the things you have in common, so focus on those to start with. Be relaxed It’s natural to be nervous on a first date: remember your date is probably feeling the same way! If you get on, the nerves will soon disappear. Match puts the safety of its users at the center of its concerns, which is why you will find a dedicated space with many tips, click here.

Q: How are my exchanges with other members processed by Match?

Keeping you safe is always our top priority. We use automated tools to scan interactions like messages and video calls solely for indications of harmful or illegal behavior. Our trained agents may review interactions that are flagged by our automated tools or in response to a user report. We may use these examples to train our technology to improve our ability to find and remove similar content.

Question 1

How can I keep myself safe on the site?

Accepted Answer

The overwhelming majority of singles on Match are people looking to have fun as they look for someone special. But like any online environment, it pays to stay safe.

Our Safety tips section has lots of information and tips, but here are a few golden rules:

Don't give out information that could identify you easily in real life on your profile, and don't share such information too quickly while interacting with other Members.
Stay on the platform while you get to know other singles. Users with bad intentions often try to move the conversation to text, apps, email or phone.
Don't agree to meet in person until you’re ready, and make sure your first date is somewhere public. If you meet someone you're interested in, take things at your own pace.
Never be pressured into doing something or revealing something that makes you uncomfortable.
Always remember that someone you meet online might not be who they say they are.
Never share any Personal Identifiable Information (PII), or card numbers on the platform or anywhere else.

Our Moderation team is ready to intervene upon report, if anything a single says or does makes you uncomfortable, and has the power to permanently remove anyone from Match if necessary. They act completely confidentially, so anything you report is just between you and them.

You can contact the moderators by clicking the three dot button ( ... ) and then Report this person on any profile or in the messaging window.

➔ But remember - bad experiences are few and far between on Match - We are here to back you up and hope you have a lot of fun as you search for that special someone!

Question 2

I'm about to go on a first date'! What advice do you have to keep me safe?

Accepted Answer

Yay! Congratulations! A first date is a big step on the way to starting a real relationship. We're rooting for you 💕

Here are a few tips to help make sure you stay safe and have fun getting to know someone new.

Be safe. Arrange to meet in a public place like a café or pub ☕ – and don't give them your address just yet.
Take your time to get to know each other first! Take your time getting to know your date at your own pace.
Meet for a drink 🍹 first rather than a dinner: that way you can end the date quickly if you're not comfortable or you just don't click. You can always try something more original next time, or grab a bite to eat if things are going well.
Dress to please you. It’s nice to look your best, but always be yourself. But don't go overboard: choose something comfortable and subtle that reflects who you are.
Be spontaneous. Don't overthink what you're going to say. You already know some of the things you have in common, so focus on those to start with.
Be relaxed It’s natural to be nervous on a first date: remember your date is probably feeling the same way! If you get on, the nerves will soon disappear.

Match puts the safety of its users at the center of its concerns, which is why you will find a dedicated space with many tips, click here.

Question 3

How are my exchanges with other members processed by Match?

Accepted Answer

Keeping you safe is always our top priority.

We use automated tools to scan interactions like messages and video calls solely for indications of harmful or illegal behavior.

Our trained agents may review interactions that are flagged by our automated tools or in response to a user report.

We may use these examples to train our technology to improve our ability to find and remove similar content.

Question 4

Wait a minute… are all these profiles genuine? How can I be sure?

Accepted Answer

Our moderation team works hard to ensure Match is a safe and friendly place to visit.
Every profile description and photo is moderated by the team.

A good tip is that profiles which are complete and regularly updated usually belong to someone serious about finding love. After all, why would you go on a date with someone who doesn't make an effort?

If you ever think a profile doesn't look right, it’s easy to report it to the moderators.

Just click on the three dot button '...' on the profile or messaging window and then click Report this person.

Match puts the safety of its users at the center of its concerns, which is why you will find a dedicated space with many tips, click here.

Question 5

Does Match use automated individual decision-making and profiling?

Accepted Answer

Automated individual decision-making and profiling are invisible features at the heart of the services you know and love. They allow us to improve our services and we would not be able to offer you interesting profiles without them.
We use these features for a couple of reasons:

To help you connect with other users

We use the information you provide us with (for example, your gender and age) and the information we collect when you use Match (like your activity on Match and your location, if you share it with us) to feed our proprietary algorithm and recommend people who you might be interested in.
We use the same process to recommend you to other users. Elements such as you ethnic origin, your income and your religious beliefs are not taken into account by our algorithm. But you can of course use the search options on Match to filter the profiles offered to you.

To show you advertisements and offers that might interest you

We use this personal information to show you relevant and useful ads both within our field and outside of it and to measure their effectiveness. In addition to that we also use it to create personalized offers for you.

To promote safety

We use automated decision making and profiling as part of our moderation toolbox (to delete bots, for example) to ensure the safety of our users and to take quicker and more effective action against any illegal or unwanted behaviour.
Those who engage in illegal or unwanted behavior on Match may suffer penalties that can go as far as the suspension or closure of their account, in tandem with other types of legal action.

Question 6

How does Photo Verification work?

Accepted Answer

Photo Verification consists of one simple step: taking a video selfie. You will receive "Photo Verified" status if the person in your video selfie passes both the Liveness Check and 3D Face Authentication step.

The Liveness Check scans the face in your video and helps us determine whether the video was taken by a real, live person, and that it was not digitally altered or manipulated. 3D Face Authentication detects your face in your video selfie and your profile photos, and extracts facial geometries using facial recognition technology to generate a unique number or facial geometry “template.” These templates are used to help check whether the person in your video selfie is the same person as in your profile photos.

Your facial geometry templates are deleted within 24 hours. Your video selfie is deleted and is not added to your profile, but we keep two screenshots from your video selfie for the purposes of auditing and managing this feature.

How do you use the Facial Geometry information?

We only use your facial geometry information for the purpose of Photo Verification. To perform the photo verification process, we share your facial geometry information and screenshots with Match Group, LLC., a Match Group company which operates this feature upon our instructions and on our behalf, as our service provider. They store and use your facial geometry information and screenshots on their Amazon Web Service (AWS) instances. This information and screenshots are deleted from their Amazon Web Services instances in the timeframes laid out below under “What will you keep after verification is complete?”. If you want to learn more about AWS’s privacy practices, you can click here. We do not share your facial geometry information and screenshots with any other third parties.

What will you keep after verification is complete?

We will keep two screenshots from your video selfie during the life of your account to audit and manage our selfie verification feature. These screenshots are deleted upon account closure, in accordance with our Privacy Policy. We’ll also keep the results of the Photo Verification process (i.e., verified or not). We do not keep the underlying facial geometry information or “template” beyond the Photo Verification process (which is usually complete within 24 hours). We do not keep your video selfie.

Under what legal authority do you process the Photo Verification information?

We process the Photo Verification information with your consent.

What is Match’s Policy for the retention and destruction of biometric information?

Retention. Biometric information — namely, facial geometries that allow us to conduct facial recognition on your video selfie and profile pictures for the purposes of completing Photo Verification — are only created and retained with your consent for the duration of the Photo Verification process. Photo Verification may take up to 24 hours. Once your Photo Verification is complete, the biometric information is deleted. We retain screenshots from the video selfie that you took for the purposes outlined above, but the facial geometry information pulled from your video is deleted.
Destruction. When Match deletes the biometric information following the completion of the Photo Verification processes, it is permanently purged from our systems and can no longer be retrieved.

How do I find more information about Match’s data practices, including my privacy rights?

Visit our Privacy Policy to learn more about our privacy practices, including the Your Rights section.

What if I have another question?

Contact us anytime!

Question 7

I have spotted a profile which looks dodgy. What can I do?

Accepted Answer

If you have any doubts about a member, you can report it to the moderation team.
Your safety is our priority, and we work hard to stop any suspicious profile or behavior and scammers attempting to use our services.

To report a member:

At the top-right of their profile or conversation window click > the three dots menu '...' > Report this person.
All reports are, of course, confidential.

We'll deal with your report as quickly as possible. Just bear in mind that we won't be able to share details of any actions taken, due to confidentiality.
➔ Please remember you may also contact the police to make a complaint, and we’ll be ready to cooperate with the relevant authorities if they contact us.

Match puts the safety of its users at the center of its concerns, which is why you will find a dedicated space with many tips, click here.

Online safety

How can I keep myself safe on the site?

I'm about to go on a first date'! What advice do you have to keep me safe?

How are my exchanges with other members processed by Match?

Wait a minute… are all these profiles genuine? How can I be sure?

Does Match use automated individual decision-making and profiling?

How does Photo Verification work?

I have spotted a profile which looks dodgy. What can I do?

How can I protect my profile?

What is cyberbullying, and how do I report it?

Why the messages and views of a profile have disappeared from my list?

How to contact the Data Protection Officer?