Multiple Faces Detected
October 10th, 2023
Dating apps require a lot of time to get results. On Tinder, you need to swipe right or left, review profiles, and text with matches you’re interested in. After doing all of those things, it can be disappointing to discover that a match you want to meet in person isn’t human and, worse, are Tinder bots.
“Bots” are no longer rare to encounter. Called “internet robots, “web robots,” or solely “bots,” they are various software applications which can follow pre-programmed scripts. Their specialty is repetitive, simplistic tasks. While most of us wouldn’t consider conversation simplistic, bots are created to ‘communicate’ under the appearance of being ‘real’ people or used as web crawlers.
The use of bots has produced good and bad results, depending on who you are. While making use of “botting” has given some social media influencers a boost in their fan base and led to spokesperson opportunities, in the world of dating, bots can be confusing, annoying, and even break hearts.
So, What Is a Dater to Do?
The dilemma of the modern age. If bots look and sound human and write human things, how can users tell the difference between actual Tinder Matches and Bots? By following our tips below!
Tip #1: You Don’t Want What They’re Selling
A ‘bot’ will always appear to have connections or friends who have friends. This means that they might suggest another site, introduce you to a game, or even refer you to another dating sites or pornographic material. Either way, if someone you’ve just begun talking to and haven’t met in person starts referring you to an external site or business, put up your radar that they may be a bot.
Because people go to Tinder to date, most aren’t expecting that ‘friendly’ suggestions are a bot marketing to them. Also, never give credit card information or money to another “dater” or their advice on Tinder. Even if a Tinder user comes up with a convincing reason, links to paid materials are usually from Bots!
Tip #2: Something Doesn’t Add Up
As technology gets more advanced, so do bots! As complex bots communicate with daters, their conversation alone may not be a dead give away even to savvy daters! Due to the multitude of discussions and personalities encountered online, a bot can add to the mix and seem like a real person. Throw in a profile with photos and most daters won’t know the difference.
One example of this is on the “Girls Who Date Computers” Tumblr blog. The Tumblr account states that it has been created to test out Alan Turing’s 1950’s suggestion of the Turing Effect (or the theory that artificial intelligence, or machines, can impersonate humans without being perceptible) the current experiment highlights the way that bots can notice phrasing, respond in like, ask open-ended questions and make small talk. If a bot is confused, it may carry on, seemingly oblivious, change the subject, or answer with a basic answer like, “Great” or “Cool.” More technically advanced bots can even answer “What?” when they aren’t sure what a dater is saying, which further tricks the person on the other side into believing a bot is a real person!
Is there any way to protect yourself?
Yes!
For instance, if you talk about something obscure or specific and a user doesn’t answer any of the questions or acknowledge the information you gave, you may be speaking to a bot. If the conversation between you and another user seems to go in circles or be repeatedly nonspecific, trust your intuition and ‘test’ them with detailed questions.
One frequently used trick is to reply with a typo, such as “fiutiuyoiyiou.” Believe it or not, Bots will often not pick up on the odd typo and ask you about it (example: “Tell me more about fiutiuyoiyiou”) as if it were real communication at least according to Harvard educated Robert Epstein.
TIP #3: MODEL, WITHOUT BEING A MODEL
This one can be tricky. Maybe your Tinder Match is naturally attractive and great at Instagram photos and filters, so it is not to say that EVERY user with model quality photos is a bot! However, if something about your conversation feels artificial AND the photographs look overly polished, like something you’d find in a magazine or Google images, try and exchange personal information or meet before becoming too invested.
Use Social Catfish’s reverse image search tool to check if that Tinder profile photo is legit:
This is especially true if the person’s career or stated profile hobbies seem uncharacteristic of the photographs shown. Such photos are likely borrowed (ahem, stolen) and not of an actual person using Tinder.
Tip #4: They Respond Faster Than the Speed of Light
An interested Tinder user will keep in contact, but if every single message, no matter when you send it, is answered faster than the speed of light, you might be talking to a bot. Regular users have lives outside the app and might have times they respond quickly or more slowly. Look for a pattern and if the other user seems always to be (too) available, do some follow up work to discover if they are a bot and if there is a suspicious pattern to their reply time.
Tip #5: Short Profiles
There is a war on bots, for a good reason. Websites and apps don’t want their users tricked or scammed as it’s not good for their business or word of mouth. No one appreciates going on a dating app, such as Tinder, and encountering multiple bots!
Because of this, once a site or app recognizes a bot’s patterns it deletes the account. This means that those who create and use bots have multiple bots in the works at once. To maximize efficiency, they keep the new accounts minimal (short profiles, a few photos) as:
1. They want to appeal to all matches, and a generic account is best for broadened horizons.
2. The accounts are frequently deleted, and it’s not worth making each too elaborate.
Final Tips to Remember
“Date Smart”!
If a Tinder user sends you links to paid material (when Tinder is supposed to be for dating), seems too reasonable to be true (or not good enough, as in they start strange conversations yet don’t seem actually to be listening or going into more detail), then look at the tips above to see if they might be a bot.
Still not sure?
Ask to meet (safely and if you like the person they might be if not a bot) or for detailed information. Why waste your time on a Tinder bot, when there are actual fish (i.e., daters) in the sea!
Also, use Social Catfish’s reverse search to check if that user Tinder match is a real human:
