Which Tinder Verification Is Best?

For most men the best Tinder verification is the one they can actually use, and that is Photo Verification. Tinder also has a second kind, ID + Photo Verification, which earns a blue check mark after a Photo Verification step and an ID check. Tinder says the ID version is available only to some people in select test markets, so many men will not see it as a choice at all.

You record a short video selfie, and Tinder compares it to your photos using facial recognition technology. Once it approves you, a blue check mark appears on your page.

To start, open Tinder, tap the profile icon, then tap the gray checkmark by your name. Select Continue under Get Verified and allow camera access if it asks. Frame your face in the oval, tap I'm Ready, and follow the prompts.

Tinder says this should only take a few minutes to process.

This is an optional process with two steps: Photo Verification and an ID check. It also earns a blue check mark.

Tinder says it is only available to some people in select test markets, on iOS, Android and tinder.com. Whether you can use it depends on where you are, so there is nothing to do if the option does not appear.

Tinder says that with this version, it keeps facial geometry data for the life of your account so you can update your photos while keeping your badge.

If both are offered, the ID version is the stronger statement, because it checks more. If only one is offered, which is the usual case, take that one.

The question men really want answered is whether one of them gets more matches. The pages we read do not say that either badge raises your results. They describe what each check does, and nothing more. Take a verification because it is a fair signal for the woman, not because someone promised a jump in matches.

A woman swiping is making a quick guess about whether the man in the photos is real and looks like his pictures. A blue check answers a small doubt. It tells her the face in the video matches the face on the card.

That does not make you more attractive. It removes one reason to swipe left, which matters most for a man whose photos are good and who would otherwise be mistaken for a fake account.

Tinder says neither badge promises that the information another person gives you is true, or that the person is safe. You are told to use your own judgment and to follow Tinder's Safety Tips.

The same holds for you as the man being checked. A badge is a signal and not a character reference. Do not lean on it for the part that matters, which is how you come across on the first date.

Tinder lists common reasons. The face is not prominent in the frame, or it is blocked or obscured. The expression is not neutral. The video is not bright or clear. Or the person does not match the photos.

So record it in daylight, with nothing over your face, looking straight at the camera. Take the sunglasses and the cap off. If you fail, the fix is almost always lighting or the match to your photos.

Tinder says you may need to redo Photo Verification if you delete one or more profile photos, and that new photos you upload afterwards can affect your status.

Plan for that before you start rearranging your set. Make your photo changes first, and then verify, so you do it once.

a dating coach's rule for photos is to change one at a time, so you know what moved your results. That keeps the badge easier to protect as well.

Use whichever verification Tinder offers you. Photo Verification is the one nearly everyone can do, takes a few minutes, and is worth doing once your photos are final.