It’s always exciting to make new connections, but when meeting new people online, it’s also always important to keep safety top of mind. At Bumble, the safety of our community is paramount, which is why we have multiple features and safety functions to help keep fake and scam profiles off our platforms. 

Bumble’s technology and support team sweep all profile photos and text for inappropriate content. They’re also looking for any content that suggests the profile might not belong to a real person, such as photos without a person in them or text that doesn’t sound human. We also have a variety of tools to detect if a profile may be fake, such as checking if the profile is trying to mask their location or using multiple phones to access the same account.

There are also some simple things that you can do to help verify your Bumble match—here are our top tips.

Check for Photo Verification

A great place to start is Bumble’s Photo Verification feature. Bumble created this feature to prevent and remove fake accounts, and it works by asking the profile owner to take a real-time selfie in a randomly-chosen pose. This selfie is then reviewed against the photos they’ve uploaded to their profile by a member of Bumble’s support team. If the selfie matches the member’s profile, they’ll be verified, and a blue shield icon will show up next to their name and age on their profile. 

If you match with someone whose profile photos aren’t verified, you can ask them to do so by clicking on “Ask [name] to verify their profile” at the top of your chat screen. Once you see that blue shield icon, you’ll know that the person you’re speaking with matches the photos on their profile. (And don’t forget to verify your own profile photos, too.) 

See or speak to them in real time

Another way to help verify your Bumble match is by asking to speak with them before meeting up for your date. Bumble has Voice Call and Video Chat features within the app that you can use to have a conversation with your match without having to give out your phone number. By connecting with a match over the phone or a video chat, you can confirm that they’re a real person. 

If you’re not quite ready for a Voice Call or Video Chat, you can ask your match to send a selfie or a voice note—both of which you can do within your Bumble chat. To help this feel more natural, weave it into the conversation: for example, ask them to send a selfie of what they’re getting up to that day. If you’re talking about your interests, like your favorite movies, ask them to send a voice note of their review. Or, you can start using voice notes in the conversation and see if they’ll do the same. 

Use social media and the internet

When looking to verify a Bumble match, social media can help. First, check to see if they’ve linked their Instagram to their Bumble profile, which will allow you to see the photos and videos they’ve uploaded, or you can search their name on social media. If you can’t find them, it doesn’t hurt to ask! (Just be respectful if they don’t want to share that information—it may be that they want to keep their social media private until they know you better.) See if the photos they’ve uploaded match those on their Bumble profile, or if they’re tagged in photos by other people. 

You can also use the information your match has provided on their Bumble profile to search them online. You may only find a local news story from when they were in second grade, but it can help to have a quick look in case you find anything that backs up their profile or, alternatively, something that serves as a red flag. If a profile seems like it could be fake, you can reverse image search the photos on the profile to see if they’re anywhere else on the internet.

Watch out for red flags

When using Bumble, it’s important to look out for any red flags when chatting to a match. Red flags can include only having one photo that looks very staged or model-like, or having little to no information on their profile. Once you’ve matched with someone, red flags may include a refusal to have a video call, excuses as to why they can’t speak over the phone, and avoiding answering questions about themselves. These red flags can also be signs of romance scams or catfishing, so you may want to be extra vigilant here. 

Overall, trust your gut. If your match is doing or saying anything that’s making you feel uncomfortable, if their profile seems fake, or if they refuse to get verified, cease conversation with them. You can Unmatch with them or use Block & Report within the app. After doing either, the person won’t be able to see your profile or reach out to you again on Bumble. And when you Block & Report someone, Bumble’s team, technology, or both will review the case, and the person may be given a warning, have their profile removed, or get banned from Bumble (but don’t worry—they won’t know who reported them). 

So, jump into conversation with your Bumble match with enthusiasm and an open mind, but make sure to use these tips to help verify them before you decide to meet them in person.