Bots don't suffer from the same nervousness that real matches do.
This makes every conversation with a bot almost flawless and smooth, alerts rediffGURU Ravi Mittal,CEO, Quack Quack, an online dating app.
Dating apps offer a plethora of matches, the comfort of finding love and friendship from anywhere in the world, the option to evaluate a person before taking the next step and more.
But, like every good thing, online dating also comes with its own set of challenges.
While dating apps do offer opportunities to find genuine connections, once in a while a cleverly disguised bot can creep in to scam users.
While it is common knowledge that these apps have security features to keep these bots and scammers in check, it makes sense to tread vigilantly and exercise caution.
On an online dating app, how do you know if you are chatting with a real person or not?
Here are some tips for daters to identify bots from real users:
1. Always check their profile picture
Twenty percent of QuackQuack users rely on profile pictures to determine if a match is real or a bot.
A clear and recent picture of a genuine person is often considered a sign of genuineness; random images of food, animals, sunsets or a cartoon can be perceived as an indication of a fake profile.
But that isn't always the case.
Introverts or people concerned about their safety can also use random images for their display picture.
Before beginning a conversation, you can perform a simple reverse image search to find the source of a picture.
Bots often steal images from the Web and pretend to be a real person. This search can reveal if the same picture exists anywhere else and if it belongs to some other person.
Images that look like professionally taken headshots have a higher probability of being stolen by bots than maybe a random image of a cat, a dog or a cute baby picture.
2. Watch the tone of conversation
Usually, bots have pre-programmed scripts.
A conversation with a bot can sound more generic and sometimes even out of context.
You can try by asking some open-ended questions that require more detailed answering. Notice how your match is answering it. Are the responses standard, generic, automated?
Real people will give a more personalised reply than a bot.
In case you suspect that you are interacting with a bot, do not share any personal and sensitive details.
Always feel free to unmatch at the first sense of suspicion; a match is not a commitment.
3. Notice how they react to different topics
Bots don't react as fast as humans do.
Use this to your advantage. Abruptly change a topic and watch how your match reacts.
If it's a bot, they might continue with the same topic for a while before they realise the shift. Do this subtly, just in case you are interacting with a real human.
The goal is to identify a bot, not scare away genuine matches.
4. Request for a video call
This is one of the most tried and tested methods of identifying bots. All you have to do is request a video call.
If you are chatting with a bot, it is likely that it won't accept the request because it can't participate in a real-time conversation.
If a match keeps constantly rejecting all video call requests, there is a good chance that they are either a bot or a scammer.
5. Verify their social media presence
No, it is not compulsory that everyone you talk to must have an active social media presence. Nowadays, however, most people are on at least one social media platform.
A genuine person will leave some form of digital footprint apart from the dating app. If not social media, they will certainly be on job-hunting apps or maybe LinkedIn.
A newly created profile or none at all can be suspicious.
6. Are they discussing money?
The ultimate motive of a bot will be to scam their match. Notice if your match is trying to shift every conversation toward money or requesting financial assistance or gifts.
Be cautious and try to dodge discussions relating to transfer of money or gifts, regardless of the genuineness of a match.
A legitimate user will never ask for money or discuss the same.
7. Is it too good to be true?
Bots don't suffer from the same nervousness that real matches do. This makes every conversation with a bot almost flawless and smooth.
If every single conversation sounds like it came straight out of a romcom, be a little cautious. It is not always necessary that it is a bot but there is a slight chance.
A bit of healthy scepticism towards users who express intense feelings too quickly would be helpful. Real connections are built over time.
8. Check for repeated phrases
Notice if your match is repeating the same phrase or word for an unnatural amount of time.
Bots have pre-set phrases that are used over and over in a conversation. In case of repetitive sentence structure or words, consider it an indication of a bot.
Again, it can be a person too but exercising caution is the best approach in such cases.
9. Bring up an old conversation
Bots lack context awareness.
You can check this by bringing up some part of a previous conversation or referring to something you mentioned a day or two ago and see how they react.
While real people will catch on quickly, bots can take some time or can't pick up the cue at all.
10. Trust your gut
Last but definitely not the least, trust your instincts.
If anything seems suspicious, take it as a hint.
You don't have to be certain that it is a bot to unmatch. There is no harm in taking extra precautions.
A genuine conversation will not trigger alarm bells.
Intuition coupled with the above-mentioned methods can be very effective in identifying not only bots but also phoney people and scammers.
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