Most dating apps do not give members a two-factor switch inside the app. eHarmony builds a code step into sign-in and CatholicMatch has a switch for it. Bumble and Badoo tell you to turn on two-factor for the Apple, Google or Facebook account you sign in with. Tinder sends a code to your phone when you sign in with a phone number, but it does not call that two-factor. Hinge's help center has no page on two-step verification at all, so on Hinge the protection is whatever sits behind the login you chose. Your matches and messages sit behind that login too.
App by app
Here is what each help center says. The right column is where you find it or who controls it.
| App | What you get | Where it lives |
|---|---|---|
| Tinder | A texted code when you sign in with a phone number. Tinder does not call it two-factor. | Built in, nothing to switch on |
| Bumble | Nothing of its own. It points you to two-factor on your Apple, Google or Facebook account. | Set up through that account |
| Badoo | The same advice as Bumble, plus a credential stored on your device. | Your Apple, Google or Facebook account, and a credential you use with Face ID, a fingerprint or a PIN |
| Hinge | No page on two-factor in its help center. | Not offered, as far as the help center says |
| eHarmony | An emailed code whenever you sign in from a device or browser it has not seen before. | Built in, and it cannot be removed |
| CatholicMatch | A switch for two-factor using your phone number. | The security tab in account settings |
| Match | Texted verification at sign-up. Its help center does not describe it as a sign-in step. | At sign-up |
| Grindr | Texted verification for accounts made with an email and password, not for Apple or Google sign-in. Grindr calls it an anti-spam measure. | At sign-up |
| OkCupid | Adding a phone number lets you log in by text instead of a password. The help page lists it as a step after an account takeover. | Account settings, once you add a number |
| Feeld | Several login methods. Signing in with Apple needs an Apple device with two-factor on the Apple account. | Your Apple account |
None of the help pages checked describe an authenticator-app option for member accounts. Tinder does say it enforces two-factor internally for its own staff, but that is not a feature for you.
Two-factor is not the same as verification
Men mix up two features that sound alike. Photo and ID verification check who a person is. Two-factor sign-in checks who is logging in.
Hinge's verification pages, for example, cover selfie checks. A selfie check confirms a face. It helps you trust a profile you are looking at. It does nothing to stop a stranger from getting into your account.
Set up the backup login on Bumble and Badoo
Bumble and Badoo are the two where one small step matters most.
If you sign in with a phone number, add another login method. On Bumble it is under Profile, Settings, Security & privacy, then Ways you can log in. Facebook, Apple ID or a credential stored on your device all count. Bumble says that if your number changes and you never added another method, it cannot recover the account.
Then turn on two-factor for the Apple, Google or Facebook account you use. Bumble says it is set up through that account, not through Bumble, and that turning it on does not affect your matches, messages or subscription.
Where there is no switch, protect what the login runs through
On Tinder, Hinge, Match, Grindr and OkCupid, the app gives you less to work with, so the work moves to the things around it.
- Secure the account you sign in with. If you use Apple, Google or Facebook to log in, two-factor on that account is your two-factor for the app.
- Secure your email. eHarmony sends its codes there, and a password reset usually lands in an inbox too. Whoever controls your inbox can often get into everything else.
- Keep your phone number under your control. Tinder, Match and Grindr lean on texted codes, which means the number is part of the lock.
- Use a password you use nowhere else. This matters most on the apps with no second step.
Why it is worth a few minutes
A hijacked account is more than an annoyance. Someone else is now writing to your matches in your name, reading your conversations and holding the account you spent months building up.
It is also tedious to repair. Bumble's own page says it cannot get an account back when a number changed and no other login was added. A backup login set up in advance costs a few taps. Recovering without one may not be possible.
So check each app you use against the table above. Where there is a setting, turn it on. Where there is none, make the account behind the login the strongest thing you own.
Written by Matthew Stevens, Co-Founder & Head Coach. More than half a decade coaching men across the US and worldwide.
Everything here comes out of real coaching work: the approaches, dates, texts and profiles we go through with the men we coach.
