Is Selfie Verification Required on Hinge?

It depends on where you are. Hinge calls Selfie Verification a voluntary process. You record a quick video selfie, and if your face matches your photos, you get a badge that everyone on Hinge can see, your matches included. In certain regions, though, Hinge requires a biometric Face Check video selfie instead, and its age check page names the United Kingdom as one place this applies. People whose photos match that scan get the same Selfie Verified badge.

Outside the regions that require Face Check, Selfie Verification is your call. Hinge describes it as a simple way to show others that you really look like your photos.

Whether you verify or not, Hinge says every user can see which profiles are verified. So skipping it does not hide the feature. It just means your page is one of the ones without the badge.

Starting it takes a minute:

1. Tap the photo icon at the far right of the bar along the bottom of the app.
2. Tap the gray check mark under your name.
3. Tap Continue and allow camera access.
4. Follow the prompts to record your selfie.

In certain regions the scan is not optional. Hinge's Face Check page describes a required biometric scan with a video selfie. It checks that the video shows a real, live person and has not been altered. It then uses your facial geometry to estimate your age, check your photos, reduce fraud and spot other profiles using your likeness. Hinge's age check page names the United Kingdom, where the requirement applies to new users.

Two details matter if you travel. The Face Check page says the requirement applies region by region, where local rules allow. It also says you may be asked to complete Face Check if you change the location on your profile to a region where it is required.

Failing it has a real cost. Hinge says that if you fail Face Check, you will not be able to use Discover, send likes or use many of its core features until verification is complete.

Hinge also runs age checks in places where the law calls for them, and those are not the same thing as the optional badge. The method varies by region. It can be a clear photo of your face that Hinge uses to estimate your age, the Face Check scan, or age information from your app store account. In some cases Hinge may ask for ID after that.

If Hinge presents you with an age check, you have to complete it to use the app fully. Until you do, Hinge says you cannot send likes or messages, and other people cannot see your page.

The badge costs a minute and answers a question she would otherwise have to guess at. Hinge's own advice on avoiding scammers tells daters to look for the Selfie Verified badge. When a woman is deciding whether to answer your like, your page either has it or does not.

It also opens a door on Hinge itself. Selfie Verification is one of the baseline requirements for the Signals badge. That badge sits beside the names of daters whose recent activity shows thoughtful use of the app. No verification, no Signals badge.

Keep your expectations honest. The badge says your photos match your face. Hinge is clear that it does not promise anything about a person's safety, so it helps her trust your photos, and your messages and the date itself do the rest.

Hinge says you need at least one photo on your page that shows your face from the front. It should be crisp and unfiltered, with you in focus and the only subject. No sunglasses, and you should be facing the camera directly.

If verification keeps failing, Hinge's list of fixes is specific. Nobody else in the photo, including in the background. A plain-colored wall behind you. Not too far from the camera. No blur, no filters, nothing cropping your face or head, and an original photo rather than a photo of a photo.

Support cannot push it through for you. Hinge says that for security reasons its team cannot manually verify a photo on your behalf, so the fix starts with your photos. If they meet every requirement and it still fails, Hinge says to contact its support team.

Verification is tied to the photos on your page at the moment you verify. Hinge says changing your photos afterwards may cost you the badge. If that happens, adjust your photos and run the check again.

Plan around it. When you refresh your photos, keep at least one clear, front-facing solo shot in the set, and be ready to re-verify. Hinge says that losing the badge also makes your Signals badge disappear, if you had one.