Now You Need A Background Check For Your Online Date

from the can't-be-too-careful dept

It seems that with the popularity of online dating, a variety of new companies are springing up around the space to offer value-added services in conjunction with online dating services. The most popular seems to be the standard background check to make sure that the person you're about to meet isn't 10 years older than they claim, isn't married, or isn't wanted in multiple states. There are also "authentication" programs that will verify the data about an individual for a price -and they can post that info to their dating profile. One company that does such authentication doubles as a photo studio where they promise to take nice photos of you for the dating site (and will put in a note saying exactly when the photo was taken, so you know it's not from decades past). It's always interesting to see outside companies spring up around successful businesses, and now the question is whether or not any of the dating sites will simply start to offer their own such services (or buy some of these outside providers).