Reusable real-person badge for dating, matrimony and community apps, ID kept out
TL;DR Proofpass checks once that a user is a real adult whose face matches a government ID, then gives apps a yes-or-no badge they can trust. Dating, matrimony and community apps pay per verified user. The user carries the badge from app to app without handing their ID to each one.
Fake profiles are everywhere on Indian social and matchmaking apps. In a survey of 1,000 singles commissioned by a dating app in eight cities, 78% of women said they had met fake profiles, and 82% said ID checks would make them feel safer[1]. Delhi Police logged 2,721 fake-profile and impersonation complaints by August 2023, up from 1,717 in the same months of 2022[2].
Users are wary of the fix too, and fairly so. Each app that asks for an Aadhaar or passport scan becomes one more copy of the document in one more database, just waiting to leak.
The seed pitched a new social network built on strict identity checks. I reframed it. A network has to win users from incumbents first, and it would sit on a pile of ID data. Selling verification to the apps people already use avoids both problems.
What it does, in regulatory terms: identity and age verification as a service, run through licensed verification partners. Proofpass does not hold an Aadhaar authentication licence and stores no ID images after the check.
The user scans an ID through a licensed provider and takes a live selfie. Proofpass confirms the selfie matches the ID photo, the person is 18 or older and the account isn't a duplicate. It keeps only a signed result and a face template the user can delete. Partner apps receive "verified adult, checked on this date" and never the document or the name, unless the user opts to share it.
When you join a second app, you approve the badge in one tap instead of verifying all over again.
Dating, matrimony and interest-community apps pay per verification, and less for a reused badge. My assumption is ₹15–40 per first check, to be tested against KYC vendor pricing, which isn't public. The consumer benchmark is a paid verification badge from one big social media group, launched in India at ₹699 a month on mobile[3], and that shows some people will pay to prove who they are.
The IT Rules 2021 already require large social platforms to offer users voluntary verification, and one Indian microblogging app did it with Aadhaar OTP through authorised third parties in 2022[4]. In January 2025 the government amended the Aadhaar authentication rules so private entities can apply for permission[5]. The DPDP Act also raises the cost of storing ID data, which favours a vault that holds less.
There is no public figure for what Indian dating and matrimony apps spend on user verification. The signal is demand - 82% of women in the dating-app survey wanted ID checks[1].
Adjacent - one Indian KYC firm says it runs more than 70 million verifications a month, mainly for banks and lenders[6]. That's a different buyer, so treat it as context.
Indian identity-verification firms sell KYC to banks and fintechs, and their products are built for regulated onboarding rather than lightweight social badges[6]. The big social media group sells a paid badge inside its own apps[3]. Some dating apps run their own selfie checks.
The gap is a portable badge that works across smaller Indian apps and keeps the ID out of their hands.
| Difficulty | Hard (52/100) |
| Starting capital | ₹1.2–2.2 Cr |
| Time to launch | 9–12 months |
Liveness and face matching have to resist deepfakes and photo replays, and those keep getting better. Partner contracts with licensed verification providers take time. Security has to be audited before any app will trust you, and one breach would end the business. So budget for audits before revenue.
No single licence, but this is one of the more tightly regulated ideas in the directory because it touches identity and biometric data.
Building this outside India? The categories above usually have a local equivalent, so check with your own regulator.
Don't trust AI alone on rejections. Face matching can be less reliable for some skin tones, ages and lighting conditions, so every failed check needs a human route and an appeal.
Want to work out the AI layer for Proofpass? Talk to Yash →
Here's what can go south -
This suits a founder with identity-security experience and real patience for compliance. If you're expecting fast consumer growth then it's not for you. Prove first that two matchmaking apps will pay for verified users and see fewer fake-profile reports among them within three months.
Plan for roughly ₹1.2–2.2 Cr, with security, licensed verification partners and certification taking a large share.
You can't run Aadhaar authentication yourself without approval. Work through licensed providers, and build to the DPDP Act from day one.
Yes, dating and community apps everywhere fight fake profiles. You'll use local ID documents and verification partners, and biometric data rules vary a lot, so check them first.
The free Proofpass validation kit has the line-by-line capital breakdown, the effort scoring, the Aadhaar and data-protection checklist, a 14-day validation sprint with pass/fail targets, a 90-day launch plan, 10 interview questions for app teams and users, and 5 assumptions to test. Download the kit →
Thinking about building Proofpass or something close to it? The make-or-break work is a liveness check that holds against deepfakes and a privacy design apps can audit, and I can help you plan both. If you need a hand, you know where to find me. Talk to Yash →
For illustration only. Names are fictional and ideas hypothetical; sourced facts are real but may be out of date. Nothing here is legal, financial or professional advice, and Yash Khatri is not personally liable for any use of it. Read the full disclaimer.