happn, is stepping up its fight against AI misuse with the launch of an industry-first feature that allows users to report AI-generated profiles. Launching on Safer Internet Day, 10 February, the feature reinforces happnโs commitment to protecting real-life encounters, sincerity, and human connection, ensuring that dating remains rooted in authenticity.
As AI becomes ever more mainstream in India, it is redefining how people present themselves online, from using AI tools to craft bios and select profile photos, to seeking AI-generated conversation starters. In fact, *over 40% of young Indian daters have used AI-powered tools to optimise their dating profiles.
However, this growing reliance on AI has also accelerated the rise of dating-related scams. According to an industry report, 51% of Indians or people they know have been approached by AI chatbots posing as real individuals on dating apps, while nearly 7 in 10 Indian users reported encountering AI-generated fake profiles. This highlights how the lines between authenticity and fabrication have blurred and why trust is now one of the biggest challenges in online dating.
It is against this backdrop that happn, an app made for real-life connections, is reinforcing that only real people should be behind the profiles and conversations on the platform. As such, happn has developed technological measures to draw a red line against AI-generated profiles, aiming for zero AI profiles across the app and ensuring authenticity remains non-negotiable.
For the first time, singles can report fake profiles generated by AI, so that users who detect foul play can report others specifically for AI misuse. This reporting will assist the customer service team in prioritising the verification of these flagged profiles. happn has also updated its Trust Charter, which every user has to commit to, to explicitly prohibit users from having a profile generated by AI. It also requires users to pledge not to send messages generated by AI or AI tools to preserve authentic, personal communication between members.
These updates build on a robust suite of safeguards already in place to protect the happn community from AI-driven fraud, with technology and human moderation working in tandem. The app analyses profile behaviour, keywords, and images to detect suspicious patterns, including the reuse of commonly circulated scam images, and compiles them into a dedicated database to enable faster detection.
In parallel, happn identifies in-app activity that does not correspond to human behaviour, such as profiles sending one Like per second, allowing potentially fraudulent profiles to be flagged and removed in near real time.
All of these automated AI systems are also overseen by a real-person moderation team working 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This team handles reports submitted in the app, investigates suspicious activity, and responds to user requests to enhance their experience. This combination of human moderation and AI technology reinforces happnโs belief that dating should remain human and rooted in real-life connection
"At happn, our priority has always been to create a safe and authentic space for singles," says Karima Ben Abdelmalek, CEO of happn. "As AI technology evolves, so must our strategies to protect this authenticity. By using advanced technology to counter AI-generated fraud, we are making a clear choice that dating should remain human. These measures allow us to preserve the integrity of every connection made on the app, and continue to offer a space where people meet as themselves.โ
As AI continues to enter more parts of our lives, one question remains unanswered: what does dating become if we accept that machines can speak, seduce and present themselves on our behalf?
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