Match Group expands anti-scam measures after Senate probe finds gaps on Tinder

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Match Group anti-scam upgrades

Highlights

Tinder had not updated most of its AI models for detecting bad actors for years as of the second half of 2025, prompting Match Group to launch a new AI model and Face Check video verification nationwide in December 2025.
Within a month of the Face Check rollout, interactions with bad actors on Tinder in the U.S. dropped over 70% and this reduction persisted for at least seven months.
Between May 2024 and December 2025, the number of profile views received by a median scammer on Tinder rose by over 700%, and 1.5 million bad actors matched with at least one U.S. user in the first nine months of 2025.

Investigation findings and platform response

As reported by Joint Economic Committee Democrats, citing the Joint Economic Committee - Minority, U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan released the results of a year-long investigation into romance scams across Match Group platforms including Tinder, Hinge, Match and Plenty of Fish.

The inquiry finds that Tinder had not updated most of its AI models used to detect bad actors for years as of the second half of 2025, based on internal documents provided to the committee. After continued follow-up from the committee, Match Group introduces new efforts aimed at removing harmful accounts more effectively, including a new AI model in the first half of 2026 that examines profiles and other information to detect scammers and other bad actors.

Match Group also announced the U.S. rollout of Face Check on Tinder in October 2025 and deploys it nationwide in early December, requiring all new Tinder users to complete a video selfie verification process. The company tells the committee that within a month of the nationwide rollout, interactions with bad actors on Tinder in the United States fall by more than 70%, and that reduction remains in place for at least the next seven months.

Consumer risk and policy implications

Committee findings indicate that major safety shortcomings persist on Tinder as scammers reach a growing number of users. Data provided by Match Group show that globally, between May 2024 and December 2025, the number of profile views received by a median scammer on Tinder rises by more than 700%.

The report also says Match Group knows Tinder is more likely to show a profile if it belongs to a scammer or other bad actor rather than a regular user. In the first nine months of 2025 in the U.S., almost 1.5 million scammers or other bad actors on Tinder and Hinge match with at least one other user, and nearly 500,000 of those accounts exchange contact information with another user.

Hassan says romance scams are causing both financial and emotional harm and argues that dating apps need to keep scam defenses current as criminal networks use AI more aggressively. The investigation forms part of a broader anti-scam push that also includes bipartisan legislation passed by the Senate last month requiring dating apps to notify users if they interacted with a scammer later banned by the platform, as well as the proposed ReportScams.gov Act to create a central reporting portal.

Our earlier article on scientists calling for global rules on cyber-capable AI models described an open letter urging enforceable containment standards and a public registry for major AI security incidents. The piece noted that researchers see voluntary pledges by leading developers as insufficient, and argued for independent oversight and tighter controls as advanced models become more capable and harder to contain.

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