What to Do If Someone Is Using Your Photos on a Dating App

What should you do first?

Save what you can see before anything changes. Hinge asks for the exact name, age, bio and photos on the impersonating profile and says screenshots help, and other apps will need similar details.

• Screenshot the profile, including its name, age, location and bio.
• Note the app and the date you saw it.
• Do not message or threaten the account. Report it instead.

How do you report impersonation on each app?

• Tinder: use its help request form and choose “Someone is impersonating me.”
• Hinge: use the Submit a Request form and choose Safety and Reporting.
• Badoo: tap the three dots on the profile and choose Block and report, or Report on the web. Badoo lists impersonation and fake profiles as reasons to report.
• MeetMe: email support@meetme.com about an account you did not create.
• Tagged: email support@tagged.com about an account you did not create.

What if it is happening to someone you know?

Tell them what you saw and share your screenshot privately. Hinge, for example, asks you to encourage the person being impersonated to report directly, and accepts reports from you only if you are authorized to act for them, such as a parent or legal representative.

This matters if you have found what looks like your partner on an app. A familiar photo under a different name or town may be someone else using their pictures, so compare several details before you assume it is theirs.

Where else might your photos be?

A reverse image search with Google Lens, Bing or TinEye can show public pages using the same picture. It will not reach photos inside private apps, so a clean result does not rule out a profile. CheaterExposer can also check public dating and social results for your own details, with each result linked to its source.

What if the fake profile is scamming people?

Romance scammers often build profiles from stolen pictures. If you learn your photos are being used to ask people for money, tell the app and report it to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. If someone contacts you believing they have been talking to you, explain that the account isn’t yours and point them to the same places.