Does eHarmony Have Fake Profiles?

Probably a few, as on every dating site, and nobody outside the company can say how many. eHarmony describes an authenticity check that uses a short video selfie, which makes it harder for a stolen photo to pass. It does not make a woman safe, and it does not mean every match you see has been checked. Judge each page on its own, watch her messages, and keep your own count of what you see.

eHarmony's authenticity check is a short video selfie. It confirms you are a real, live person, compares you with your photos and checks that the photos have not been digitally altered.

That covers the most common fake: an account built from photos lifted from somebody else's social media. A person running that account does not have the face in the photos, so a live check should be hard for them to pass. It does not cover everything. A real person can still lie about her age, her situation or why she is on the site.

Read the claim as a tool and not as a promise. The pages we read give no figure for how many fake accounts exist or get through.

eHarmony is built around a Compatibility Quiz. Every new member answers it before matching starts, and it takes longer than a swipe.

In our view, that effort is a reasonable filter. A person running many fake accounts is unlikely to want to answer a long quiz for each one. The pages we read do not claim that, so treat it as a likelihood and not as a fact.

The site also describes its members as serious about finding a lasting connection. It asks at sign-up whether a member wants casual, serious or not sure. A woman who has said she wants something serious has given you more to work with than a woman who swiped on you in a second.

a dating coach's observation is that apps are not equally clean. In the United States he says Tinder has a lot of fake profiles, and Hinge tends to be better, especially in major cities. He also says good skills on an app full of fakes and people who are not looking to date will produce less than ordinary skills on an app where people truly want to meet.

He does not rank eHarmony for fakes, so we will not. His point is the useful one: app choice is part of your results, and you can test more than one. You do not have to be loyal to one app.

Most fakes give themselves away quickly, and you do not need special tools.

Look at the photos. A single polished shot, or several that look like one shoot, is a flag. Look at the writing. A page that says almost nothing specific, or says things that could apply to anyone, is a flag. Look at the chat. Replies that arrive at every hour, or that answer a general category instead of the detail you asked about, are flags.

Then test with something only a local would know. Ask which part of town she likes for a drink. A real woman answers in a line. A fake changes the subject or gives a vague reply.

A lot of what men call fake is ordinary. A woman who looked at your page and never wrote back is not a bot. She is busy, or not interested, or no longer on the site. A match that disappears may have been closed by her. A woman who looks different from her photos is a real person with an old picture, which is annoying and not the same as a scam.

Your own list also matters. A man who likes everyone ends up with a feed full of people he never wanted. a dating coach's view is that an app reads him as less selective and shows him fewer of the women he would pick. Being choosy is the best filter you have.

Do not invest more than a few messages before you have checked the basics. Move toward a plan within a handful of exchanges. A short call before a first date settles the "is she real" question better than any badge.

When you do meet, choose a public place near your own home, tell a friend where you are, and keep it to a drink or a coffee.

If you want to know whether eHarmony works for you in your city, count results. Give it a few weeks with good photos, and note how many women answer, how many reach a plan and how many dates happen. That is evidence. A guess about fakes is not.