World Romance Scam Prevention Day: How We’re Protecting and Empowering Users
by Jeff Dunn, VP, Trust & Safety
In recent years, technology facilitated romance scams of all kinds have been on the rise across platforms. This is a known challenge that we at Hinge take incredibly seriously.
As a dating app built on fostering connections, we feel an especially strong commitment to protect those who may encounter this type of interaction while seeking love. We are proud to have the opportunity to bring people together, but it also means we have a responsibility to help them connect as safely as possible when they choose Hinge for their dating journey. That looks like maintaining a strong internal safety roadmap, staying aligned with best practices in our industry, and showing up for daters by providing the tools and resources they need.
Meaningful connections can only happen when people feel safe.
This is why we take a proactive approach to safety across all our products and features. From a Trust & Safety perspective, this means focusing on trying to prevent harm before it occurs by continuously refining and investing in the technologies that enhance protection on our platform. We’ve expanded our data labeling efforts to better train algorithms designed to improve detection and have bolstered our moderation capabilities to more effectively identify and reduce harmful activity.
It’s also why we have robust reporting tools that give users the ability to alert us quickly and directly in the app about any concerns they have, so our Trust & Safety team can investigate those reports. We value this ability to both help safeguard our users and learn from them. Additionally, through our research arm, Hinge Labs, we routinely connect with daters to better understand what makes them feel safer and more confident while dating. This intel helps us build our best possible version of Hinge.
We’ll continue acting in the best interest of our daters.
Scammers target people across many digital mediums and platforms, which is why the tech industry, law enforcement, government, and advocacy groups have all been diligently working to combat it. In May, our parent company Match Group helped lead the launch of the Tech Against Scams Coalition, a joint effort by industry leaders to fight romance scams at scale. This collaborative approach helps to benefit everyone by allowing for the type of knowledge and resource sharing that will help companies identify new challenges earlier, combine resources, and expedite solutions.
We, too, will continue to adapt and invest in new ways to help ensure we’re keeping users as safe and protected as possible. Hinge safety teams tackle these issues every day on behalf of our community, but we also want users to feel empowered and in control themselves.
Safety starts with guidance for all.
When it comes to romance scams, there are three top tips everyone can begin with:
- Never send money to someone you haven’t met in person.
- Never share financial details that would allow someone to access your accounts.
- If someone asks you for money, report it to the platform.
It’s important to us that daters have the guidance they need to help them make informed choices about who they interact with. This is why we offer additional resources like our tips for avoiding scams and Safe Dating Advice.
What does the future hold?
Dating should be fun and exciting. We see success stories every day that show us our methods are working, and that people are having positive experiences on Hinge. In fact, we’re setting up a date every two seconds! But there is always more work to be done, and we’ll continually innovate our approach to safety, trying to ensure we keep one step ahead on the evolving landscape that comes along with digital connection.