What are the chances you’re texting with a bot?
Dating apps are a fun and exciting way to get out of your comfort zone and meet new people. However, online dating platforms have proven to be a never-ending rollercoaster, and you never really know what you’re getting into.
Nowadays, the number of users of dating apps seems to have multiplied. But that might not be a great thing, mostly because these ‘users’ are fake.
Dating app bots are software designed to mimic human behavior and engage in conversations that seem genuine. Most bots are used to spam and scam users, depending on how advanced and complex their coding is. This generally lowers the quality of the user’s experience, but there are several ways you can avoid them.
In this article, we’ll look at some of the ways you can identify potential dating app bots.
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Table of Contents
Picture Perfect
One of the easiest ways to identify a bot is by looking through its profile – it is a dead giveaway.
For starters, the profile picture is pretty great and almost impossible to ignore. It’s as if they are staged to grab your attention!
To get more people swiping right, bots use professional profile pictures, and they are often sourced from the internet or stolen from other users. The profile picture is most likely the only photo you’ll find on their profile too.
If you’re uncertain about a particular user, you can always reverse image search on Google to see where else the photo has been used on the internet.
Hily is a great app to meet older women, and you don’t have to worry about getting cat-fished because all profiles are verified.
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The Bio Section is Fishy
There’s no denying that bots and their profiles are getting better over time. However, you can still tell a bot by the quality of their bio. The content on such profiles is generic and inconsistent. In addition, the profiles are often incomplete, and they lack any details about personal interests.
The profiles often have plenty of grammar mistakes, too many inspirational quotes, and invitations to click on links.
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Profiles are Very Responsive
While this might seem like a good thing, it might be a red flag that you’re engaging with a bot. Dating app bots are insanely fast, and they’ll send you a message immediately after your match. In addition, they will try to move the conversation to a different app.
The conversation also sounds scripted, and the replies are highly generic. Bots can’t maintain a naturally flowing conversation, and their replies often have nothing to do with your questions. If you’re suspicious, your best move would be to ask a specific question.
Pro Tip: Ask about Recent Events
Bots don’t read the paper, and they certainly don’t follow Twitter trends. As such, they are not aware of anything that happens after the last time they are trained.
Bots tend to be unfamiliar with local and cultural references, including local events, landmarks, or slang.
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They are Repetitive
Another warning sign you might be engaging a bot is receiving repetitive texts. Chatbots will often reply using the same pattern to the same question. This is somewhat hard for humans to pull off, and their answers will slightly differ.
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They’re Persistent about Getting off the App
When you’re interacting with a bot, you’ll notice that they are always trying to get you away from dating to a different platform, such as Instagram or WhatsApp. They will even offer up their usernames or contact information. It is advisable to keep all your conversations inside the dating app until you’ve verified they are real people on the other end.
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Inability to Voice or Video Call
Making video and voice calls with your matches is one of the best and safest ways to avoid getting cat-fished on dating apps. Well, this is a great technique for digging out the bots too!
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Common Sense
If you’re going to survive the jungle that is online dating apps, you’ll have to use your brain and trust your instincts.
If it seems too good to be true, then it most likely is. It pays to be skeptical about dating apps, and you can spot scammers from a mile away.
Remember, you can’t tell a bot just by one sign. Instead, it takes a cumulation of the suspicious aspects we’ve listed above. Be keen on the people you interact with, and avoid sharing personal information and intimate media with people you barely know.
Some basic tips that would improve your experience include;
- Check out your match on social media
- Wait to share personal information
- Video chat before you get too invested
- Don’t reply to requests for financial help
- Block and report suspicious profiles.
Conclusion
Don’t feel sorry for blocking and reporting bots. They are a menace, and most of them come with malicious agendas.
If you think you blocked a profile that wasn’t a bot, they probably didn’t deserve your time anyway. If they are simple and boring enough to be confused with a bot, then you’re better off without them anyway.
Varsha