Multiple Faces Detected
January 22nd, 2026
Dating apps such as Tinder, Bumble, OkCupid, and POF have become popular for people as they try to find that special someone. They trust and rely on these dating apps to provide them with the best matches, thinking that these companies care about their dating journey. However, there have been many employees that have confessed to sabotaging these matches so that users will spend money on their service. They have also confessed to ghost accounts, the number of explicit photos they have received, and the number of bots they created for their dating apps. These secrets will make you never look at dating apps the same ever again. Here are some dating app secrets to know for the next time you swipe left or right on a dating app.
Dating App Secrets Confessed By Their Employees
Ghost Accounts
View this post on Instagram
Many dating app employees reported that they have ghost accounts, which are fake accounts that are created purposefully by dating app employees. These accounts were created for a variety of different reasons, such as employee boredom, not enough matches, and testing out the messaging feature.
“We used to create fake accounts and chat with users. It was everything from someone having a premium account that wasn’t getting responses, to bored employees,” SupermanistheDR wrote on a Reddit thread. This means that a dating app will make sure that a premium user is getting matches… even if they have to do it themselves.
View this post on Instagram
In a Reddit post, user Yetorico observed that female users of dating apps tend to sign off earlier in the day than male users, resulting in fewer female users being online after 10 p.m. As a solution, dating apps may employ “ghosts,” or fake profiles operated by young men in their late teens and early twenties, located in France, Serbia, Ukraine, and Russia. These ghost profiles use real photos of women to maintain the appearance of active female users on the app, which can help to keep male users engaged and paying for memberships.
Because of the lack of females, dating apps are needing to create ghost profiles to attract men onto their sites. Reddit user Matt95110 confirmed this by stating, “Most of the female users were fake. We would import thousands of fake profiles all the time to prop up the numbers and let the men think there were all of these women on the platform.”
There was also an instance where a dating app employee, known on Reddit as Marzana1900, had to create a ghost profile in order to test the dating app’s messaging feature.
“I tested the communication feature for a dating company that shall remain nameless… The message exchange function needed to be flawless (glitches ironed out, etc.). Except, in this case, the requirement was to establish a relationship with a user (usually three on the go simultaneously) and keep it going for about two months. Fake identity was used of course. Months! I researched the person, likes, dislikes, interests, and so on. A whole fake relationship was built. Then, after the test run was over, I’d ghost them, delete my profile, and move on to the next subject. It was unnerving,” Marzana1900 states of their experience with dating app secrets.
The Algorithm’s Purpose is To Get You to Pay
Many people think that the purpose of a dating app’s match algorithm is to get you to find the person you are meant to be with quickly. However, their purpose is actually the opposite of what you might think. Their purpose is to make you pay for the dating app’s services.
“Our algorithm is intended to maximize ad revenue and time on the app by delivering matches when the probability for the user to churn is highest. The algorithm does not prioritize matches.” Reddit user, datingappsdontcare, states.
“The algorithms are less sophisticated than you think… The main goal of the algorithm is always to get you to pay, never to actually ensure you meet somebody in real life, as much as we tried to lie to ourselves that it was,” Reddit user, Throwaway492130921, states regarding these dating app secrets.
Basically, dating apps make sure that men get very few matches to encourage them to pay for their services and get more matches. On the other hand, they make sure women get matched up to a lot of men who are unresponsive so that women will pay for the app and receive more accurate matches.
“Men get VERY FEW matches, regardless of how good their profile is. Women get A LOT of matches, but most of those matches are useless,” Reddit user, Katamende, states about these dating app secrets.
Bots Created to Keep Users Entertained
There are also bots that are created to make sure users are entertained on dating app platforms. This is to ensure that even though people don’t match with a specific user, they still feel like they are being matched with, even if it’s just a bot. The bot will start conversations with the user, but they will ghost them a few minutes later.
“Many apps seed attractive bots to keep people engaged. The bots will send/respond to a couple of substandard questions. ‘How was your week?’ ‘What are you looking for?’ and then ghost. Despite the ghost, the high of matching with a super attractive person who spoke to you is enough to get many people hooked and chasing the dragon.” Reddit user, pugtheghost, states.
Dating App Murder?!
There have been cases where a victim has met their murderer on a dating app. Basically, a victim thinks that they are going on a date with someone and meets them at their house. However, once they get to the person’s house, the murderer locks them in and kills them. They usually assault the body too before they are caught.
A dating app employee, known as Throwaway492130921 on Reddit, has had to deal with a murder case while working at a dating app company, “We had murder on our platform. The top of the company got interviewed as witnesses. TBH, there wasn’t really anything we did or could have done about it, but it is crazy to think about.”
Too Many Explicit Photos!
There are too many people that send dirty pictures back and forth within a dating app. Some people go onto dating apps for that purpose alone. However, there are also people who send a dirty picture as their first message to a potential match.
“The amount of unsolicited d*k pictures men would send women, not even accompanied by any words, was horrifying. I mean, you’d expect it because online dating is a cesspit, but the sheer amount would still surprise you. I had to look at each reported picture and say, ‘Yes, that’s a p*is,'” Reddit user, Jimmypeglegs, states about their experience.
“I have a friend who works for [a dating app]. Anyway, the company isn’t important. What is important is that her ENTIRE job is to remove inappropriate images. Her JOB is to look at d*k pics all day. Five days a week… Just a weird f*ing job,” Reddit user, Lettuce-b-lovely, states about their friend’s experience.
Most People Lie on Dating Apps
Facebook User Ex.Treme
There are many people who kittenfish within a dating app in order to make themselves look better. Kittenfishing is when you lie about your personality, age, looks, or interests in order to make someone like you more. According to dating app employees, there are many people who lie on dating apps to better their chances of getting a date.
“Women frequently lie about their age and weight, and men lie about their height and salary. Also, it’s a big problem that women are inundated with DMs while most men get none,” a Reddit user states.
Are They Able to Help With Romance Scams?
Romance scammers will do anything to get their hands on their victims’ money. They spend countless hours on dating sites matching with hundreds of victims, telling them the things they want to hear. They even have a scammer’s playbook that allows them to copy pre-written flirtatious messages and paste them onto their victims’ chats. This makes victims fall for them and trust them faster than usual so that scammers can drain their bank accounts faster. Even though dating app employees are aware of these scams, there isn’t a whole lot they can do.
“One of our members got scammed out of six figures, and there was nothing we could do about it. She was older and lonely, and the person used an attractive picture and kind words to play off of that. If you let them, people will find any way to scam and abuse those who are lonely. Some of our systems for detecting and removing scammers and spammers were far more advanced than our systems for actually creating matches,” Reddit user Throwaway492130921 states.
“People get scammed often. Lonely people are vulnerable and get scammed out of money and gifts,” Reddit user throwitawaydate3109 states.
How to Tell You Are Talking to a Real Person on a Dating App
- They video chat with you constantly, or they are willing to meet you in person.
- They don’t ask you for any money, gift cards, or personal information.
- They don’t have lavish lives that seem too good to be true.
- Their photos don’t seem like they are heavily edited or from a supermodel.
- They don’t copy every single interest that you are into.
- They don’t ghost you after a few months.
How to Recover From a Scam on a Dating App
- Report the scam to local law enforcement with any evidence that you have.
- Screenshot every piece of evidence you can of the person who asked you for money.
- Report the scam to the FTC so that they can update their numbers, information, and also notify the FBI.
- Report the scammer on the dating app so that their account can be removed immediately.
- Block the scammer once you got the information you need for law enforcement.
- Keep in mind that they will not give you your money back if you keep in contact with them.
Social Catfish is Here to Help You!
At Social Catfish, we want to help you verify the identities of those who might seem suspicious to you. If you have their name, email address, phone number, social media username, or image, you can reverse search and see who the suspected person was that you’ve been in contact with after reading these dating app secrets.
