Greed Dating has rolled out an innovative, low-cost identity verification system designed to fortify user safety on its platform. The system employs a 15-second “blink test” – prompting users to blink at random moments – to confirm liveness and prevent the use of static images or pre-recorded videos. With an internal running cost of just £0.80 per 1,000 users according to Greed itself, the test also estimates age based on facial analysis, with confidence-supported classification and manual review for borderline cases.
This initiative sets a precedent under the UK Online Safety Act standards, extending compliance beyond legal necessity to dating environments. Greed Dating embeds a pixelated audit image – visible only to chat participants – that can be revealed over time. This transparency mechanism allows members to confirm each other’s identity while equipping moderators to detect suspicious or duplicate profiles.
Since its introduction, the blink-test verification has significantly curtailed fraudulent accounts. David Minns, founder of Greed Dating, emphasized that dating safety doesn’t have to be an expensive part of running a dating platform, and stated that the system provides more than adequate in-house protection at only a marginal cost.
Earlier this year, the platform also introduced AI-driven nudity-detection safeguards in both profile uploads and live messaging, proactively addressing cyberflashing risks and aligning with upcoming regulatory standards. This may have ended up being a test step towards what is now the blink test system.
Greed Dating plans to expand its security toolkit with age estimation improvements and “scammer faceprint” detection, aiming to create a safer, more transparent dating environment. Whether these tools will ever be released as a wider licensable technology or retained entirely in-house remains to be seen.
