Guides

How to get verified

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Dateable's selfie check step by step: get your photos ready, copy the random pose, pass review, and fix the usual reasons a check does not pass.

9 minute readUpdated 2026-09-30

By the end of this guide you will have taken Dateable's selfie check and earned the Verified badge on your profile. You will also know what the badge proves, what it does not, and how to fix a check that does not pass the first time.

Verification takes one photo of you, taken live, holding a pose the app picks. A person on Dateable's team compares it with your profile photos. If they match, you are verified.

What verification unlocks

Until you verify, Dateable is a window. Once you verify, it is a door. A finished profile lets you browse and favourite. Everything that puts you in touch with another member waits for the badge.

A profile counts as complete with a photo, three profile fields filled in and an about section of at least 50 characters. Anyone signed out can still see the titles of listings on the Board, but reading one in full and applying needs the badge.

The rule runs both ways. Every member who can message you has passed the same check, which is the point of it.

What the badge proves, and what it does not

Read this part before you rely on the badge, yours or anyone else's.

Dateable's check confirms a face, not an identity. It is not an identity or age document check. Every member states a date of birth at joining and must be 18 or over, but nobody has looked at a licence or passport. An ID check provider is still being chosen.

So treat the badge as a floor, not a ceiling. It rules out the most common trick on dating sites: a stranger using someone else's photos. Scamwatch lists excuses to avoid meeting or video calling as a warning sign, and suggests a reverse image search on a match's photos ¹. The eSafety Commissioner calls a camera that "does not work" a sign of a catfish ². A verified member has already shown their face to a camera once. Keep checking everything else the way you would anywhere. The safety page covers the rest.

Before you start

Five minutes of setup saves a failed check. The reviewer compares your selfie with your profile photos, so the photos matter as much as the selfie.

1. Put a clear photo of your face first. Your first public photo must show your face, and it is the one the reviewer leans on. Sunglasses, a heavy filter or a face half in shadow make the comparison hard.
2. Check your other photos are all you. A group shot where nobody can tell which person you are, or an old photo from years ago, gives the reviewer less to go on. Our guide to choosing your photos covers order and light.
3. Wait for your photos to clear review. Every photo is reviewed before anyone else sees it. Verify against photos that are live on your profile, not ones still waiting.
4. Find good light. Face a window in daylight or stand under an overhead light. Light behind you turns your face into a silhouette.
5. Use the phone's front camera, held at arm's length. The whole face and the pose need to fit in the frame.
6. Take off what hides your face. Sunglasses, a cap pulled low, a face mask. Keep your usual glasses on if you wear them in your photos.

Take the selfie check, step by step

You reach the check in two places: the last step of onboarding when you first join, or the Verification tab on your profile at any time after.

1. Open the Verification tab. Go to your profile and choose Verification. If you are still in onboarding, it is the final step. Doing it now means you can message the moment you pass.
2. Read the pose the app gives you. The app picks a pose at random for each check. Random poses stop anyone reusing an old photo or one taken from the internet, which is why the pose matters more than your smile.
3. Copy the pose exactly. Same hand, same side, same fingers. Hold it steady until the photo is taken. A near miss is the easiest way to fail.
4. Keep your whole face in frame. Forehead to chin, both eyes visible, looking at the camera. The reviewer needs to see the face and the pose in one photo.
5. Look at the photo before you send it. If it is blurry, dark, or your hand covers your face, take it again. Blur is the second easiest way to fail.
6. Submit it and wait for review. A person on Dateable's team compares the selfie with your profile photos and makes a decision. Carry on finishing your profile while you wait.
7. Check your profile for the badge. Once you pass, your profile shows "Verified" and the month you passed. Members see that month, so a recent one reads well.

What happens to your selfie

Your selfie is a photo of your face, and in Australia a photo that identifies you counts as personal information under the Privacy Act ⁴. Here is what Dateable keeps and for how long.

• The selfie itself is deleted 30 days after the decision, pass or fail.
• The decision and its date stay on your record. They are what the badge shows.
• Nobody else sees the selfie. It is compared with your profile, not added to it. Other members see the badge, never the photo behind it.
• Your profile photos have location data stripped when you upload them, so the photos the reviewer compares against carry no hidden map.

The privacy policy sets out the rest of what Dateable holds about you.

If your check does not pass

A check that does not pass almost always comes down to one thing: the reviewer could not match the selfie to the photos. Work through the table, fix the one that fits, and take the check again from the Verification tab.

If you have fixed everything you can see and still do not pass, write to the team through contact. Keep it short and factual:

Hi, my selfie check hasn't passed. I've replaced my first photo with a recent, unfiltered one and retaken the selfie in daylight, copying the pose exactly. Could someone take another look? My display name is [your display name].

Leave out your password, your date of birth and any document. The team does not need them to look at a verification.

Keeping your badge

The badge belongs to your face as your profile shows it. Change the face, and the badge needs checking again.

• Changing your first photo means verifying again. The first photo is the one that shows your face, so a new one needs a new selfie. Pick your new first photo, wait for it to clear review, then take the check.
• Adding or reordering other photos leaves your first photo where it is. The rule ties re-verifying to the first photo changing.
• Pausing your account hides you and keeps your data. It does not add a new photo, so it does not touch the first-photo rule.
• The month on your badge is the month you last passed. Re-verifying after a new first photo moves it forward.

Using the badge when you meet people

The badge answers one question: is this the person in the photos? It gives you a head start. It does not replace the checks you make before meeting anyone.

The Sexual Assault Resource Centre in WA suggests a video chat before meeting, to check someone matches who they claim to be, and keeping your address, date of birth, workplace and family names private until you trust them ⁵. A verified member can still be a poor match, or lie about everything the badge does not cover.

Before a first date, a short video call does what the badge cannot: it shows the person as they are today, talking and moving. If you want one, ask plainly:

I'm enjoying talking with you. Before we meet, would you be up for a quick ten-minute video call this week? I do it with everyone. Tuesday or Wednesday evening?

Any member with a complete profile can message you, so check for the badge. If a match has no badge yet, ask them to verify before you meet. If someone you met here pushes to move the conversation off the site before you have met, say so and stay put:

I'd rather keep talking here until we've met. It's how I do things with everyone.

Quick check before you submit

• My first public photo is a clear, recent, unfiltered photo of my face, and it has cleared review.
• I am in good light, facing the camera.
• I have read the pose and I am copying it with the right hand, on the right side.
• My whole face and the pose are in the frame, and nothing covers my eyes.
• Nothing in the background gives away where I live or work.
• I am in the Verification tab of my own profile, not following a link someone sent me.

More on how Dateable reviews photos and checks members lives on the verification page.

Questions people ask

How does Dateable verification work?

You take a live selfie while holding a pose the app picks at random. A person on Dateable's team compares that selfie with your profile photos. If they match, your profile shows a Verified badge with the month you passed. The random pose proves the photo was taken live, not copied from somewhere else, and the comparison proves you are the person in your photos.

Do I need to verify on Dateable?

Not to message: a complete profile lets you browse, favourite and message. Verification gives you the badge and a lift in search, and you need it to read a full listing on the Board, apply for an invitation, post one, and see a private album someone has granted you.

Does Dateable check my ID or age?

Not through verification. The selfie check confirms you match your photos. It is not an identity or age document check, and nobody asks for your licence or passport. Every member must be 18 or over and states a date of birth at joining. Dateable shows your age on your profile and never your date of birth.

Why did my verification selfie fail?

Usually the reviewer could not match the selfie to your photos. The common causes are the wrong pose or hand, a blurry or dark selfie, a face covered by a hand or hair, or a first profile photo that is filtered, years old or a group shot. Fix the one that fits, then take the check again from the Verification tab on your profile.

What happens to my verification selfie?

A reviewer compares it with your profile photos, and other members never see it. Dateable deletes the selfie 30 days after the decision, pass or fail. It keeps the decision and the date, which is what your badge shows. Your profile photos have location data stripped when you upload them.

Do I have to verify again if I change my photos?

Only if your first photo changes. The first public photo shows your face, and the badge matches you to it, so a new first photo means a new selfie check. Adding photos further down or reordering the rest leaves your first photo in place. When you re-verify, the month on your badge moves forward.

Is a verified member safe to meet?

The badge proves a verified member matches their photos. It does not prove their name, their age from a document, their intentions or their honesty about money. Treat it as a head start. Ask for a short video call, keep your address and workplace private, meet somewhere busy in daylight, and tell a friend where you are going.

Sources

1. Scamwatch (ACCC) (2026). Relationship scams.
2. eSafety Commissioner (2026). Online dating | How to stay safe.
3. WA ScamNet (Government of Western Australia, Consumer Protection) (2026). Sugar baby scam.
4. Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (2026). Photos and videos.
5. Sexual Assault Resource Centre, North Metropolitan Health Service (Government of Western Australia) (2021). Safe online dating.