Two profiles sit side by side. Both have a friendly bio and a clear photo. One carries a verification badge, and the other doesn't. What does that tell you? Less than people tend to assume, and more than nothing.
This article explains how verification works on ThisRomance in plain terms. It then takes the subject in the order members tend to run into it: seeing a badge on someone else's profile, thinking about getting one, and receiving an age check.
What Verification Is, in Plain Terms
ThisRomance offers voluntary identity verification through a top-tier third-party provider. Members who complete it receive a verification badge on their profile. The badge appears on the member's ThisRomance profile, so anyone who opens that profile can see it. Not us but the provider runs the check itself, and that distinction matters when you decide how much weight to give it on ThisRomance.
Verification is available and encouraged on ThisRomance, and many members can be verified. Signing up and verifying are separate steps, so having an account doesn't mean a member has completed the check.
Two Kinds of Verification, Side by Side
The word covers two different things on ThisRomance, and they're easy to mix up:
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Voluntary identity verification is a choice. A member starts it, a third-party provider runs the check, and a completed check earns a badge
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Age verification is triggered by signals, not a choice. It exists because ThisRomance is an 18+ platform, and it applies to any member those signals point to, badge or no badge
They run side by side and don't depend on each other. A member with a badge can still be asked for an age check, and a member without one isn't treated as a problem for that reason alone.
Why Platforms Verify at All
The idea didn't start with us. In a March 2025 TransUnion report, The Paradox of Online Dating: Convenience vs. Connection, 85% of women and 87% of men said they believe dating platforms should verify user information, such as age, photo recency, and location.
That is a survey about expectations, not a measure of any one platform, and it doesn't tell you how any particular check performs or how many members choose to verify. It does explain why verification keeps appearing on dating platforms such as ThisRomance: many people expect it.
If You're Browsing ThisRomance and See a Badge
A ThisRomance badge records that a member completed an identity check run by a third-party provider. That is the whole claim. It says nothing about how the person writes, behaves, or treats others, and those things only show up in the conversation itself.
Some ways to read it sensibly:
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Treat it as one piece of context alongside the photo, the bio, and how the chat feels
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Remember that plenty of members haven't verified, and the absence of a badge isn't a warning sign on its own
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Keep your own habits in place, whatever a profile shows, since a badge doesn't change how any conversation should be handled
Say a member sends you a warm first message and has no badge. Judge the message on its merits: does it mention something from your profile, or does it hurry you toward another app? That question tells you more than a badge could, and it works the same way for members who do have one.
You can report any profile on ThisRomance, verified or not, and block anyone from a profile page or from inside a conversation.
If You're Thinking About Verifying
Whether to verify on ThisRomance is up to you. Some members do it early, and some wait, and both are ordinary choices on ThisRomance. You can verify whether you'd like your profile to include that extra line of context, and waiting is fine too if you'd rather see how the platform feels first.
What to expect, without the fine print:
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You start it yourself, and the third-party provider handles the check
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Members who complete it receive a badge on their profile
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A badge doesn't put a profile out of reach of reporting, since any profile can be reported
One honest point: a badge helps others read your profile with a little more context, and it won't do the talking for you. Your bio and your messages still carry the conversation, and that is true for every member, verified or not.
If You Get an Age Check on ThisRomance
This one works differently from the voluntary kind, and the two run separately.
ThisRomance is an 18+ platform. A member who enters an age under 18 at sign-up is routed to age verification before the account can proceed. Later on, if our systems detect signals that a member may be under 18, age verification is triggered, and that member must complete it to continue using the platform. It applies whether or not the member chose voluntary verification.
The sign-up check also forgives simple slips. Someone who types the wrong age by accident goes through age verification to confirm the correct number, which keeps honest mistakes from becoming dead ends on ThisRomance while the 18+ rule stays in place.
A member who can't confirm their age receives an email stating that their account has been suspended under the age policy, along with an option to reply if they'd like the decision reviewed.
If you're an adult and you receive an age check, it's a signal-based process. It isn't personal. The member must complete it to continue, so it's worth doing promptly.
What Verification Doesn't Cover on ThisRomance
We'd rather be plain about this than let a badge oversell itself. Verification doesn't check what someone writes in a bio, nor does it predict how a conversation will go. It can't stand in for noticing what's in front of you. A badge works like a stamp on a form: it shows one step was completed, and says nothing about the rest of the paperwork.
That is why the other ThisRomance tools exist, and why they work with or without a badge:
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Public photos go through an automated AI review before they appear
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Members can report a profile, a photo, a message, or a newsfeed post to our ThisRomance Trust and Safety team
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A blur toggle in chats and mail lets you decide whether sensitive incoming content shows by default
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Blocking works from a profile page or a conversation, at any moment, and without reporting first
Our guide to staying safe on ThisRomance covers the habits that matter most, including keeping phone numbers and addresses out of your profile and early messages.
Four Common Misreadings
Four ideas about verification on ThisRomance come up often enough to answer directly:
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"A badge means the person is trustworthy." It means an identity check was completed, and nothing more
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"No badge means something is wrong." Many members simply haven't verified, and some are new
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"Verification and signing up are the same thing." They're separate, and only one of them is voluntary
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"The age check is a penalty." It's triggered by signals and applies to anyone those signals point to, so it isn't personal
Where This Leaves You on ThisRomance
Short version: the badge records one check, the age check is automatic and signal-based, and neither replaces what you notice in a conversation.
Verification on ThisRomance is a small, specific tool, and it works better when you know what it covers. It records that a check took place, it's available to members who want it, and it sits beside photo review, reporting, blocking, and your own judgment.
The badge on the first of those two profiles indicates the check was completed. What happens next is up to the two of you.
