No public rejection
Mutual-interest and NextStep choices are designed so one person does not have to receive an unnecessarily blunt public rejection.
MatedSouls
Account
Trust & safety
Dating should feel exciting. Not unsafe.
Trust, privacy and clear safety controls from the beginning.
MatedSouls is designed for UK singles over 50 with trust, privacy and safety built into the service from the beginning — rather than added after something goes wrong.
No dating service can remove every risk, and verification can never guarantee how somebody will behave. What we can do is make it harder to misuse the service, give members clear safety controls and act when concerns are reported.
Trust by design
Real people. Clear controls.
Safety should shape how the service works, not just appear in a help page after something has gone wrong.
01
Verified members
Before members can take part in introductions, MatedSouls requires account checks including email verification and approved profile photos. We plan to strengthen this further with specialist identity verification.
02
Current profiles
Inactive members stop appearing in introductions. We do not want people spending time contacting profiles whose owners have effectively left.
03
Easy blocking
Blocking someone removes the connection and prevents that person from appearing in future introductions or contacting the member who blocked them.
04
Clear reporting
Members can report concerning behaviour through the safety controls provided within established connections and conversations.
An important distinction
Safer does not mean risk-free.
Verification and moderation reduce risk; they do not replace your own judgement when getting to know somebody new.
Trust by design
Real people. Clear controls. No zombie profiles.
Trust is not a badge we want to put in the footer. It should affect how profiles are created, how members communicate and what happens when somebody raises a concern.
The safer experience is the one designed thoughtfully before a problem occurs.
Member verification
Verification should mean something.
We plan to use a specialist verification provider rather than casually collecting copies of passports or driving licences ourselves.
The aim is to verify appropriate information such as identity, age and that the person completing the check is genuinely present, while MatedSouls keeps only the information it actually needs about the result.
What verification does not mean
Verified does not mean “MatedSouls guarantees this person”.
Verification can help establish that an account belongs to a real person and reduce some forms of deception. It cannot guarantee somebody's intentions, honesty or behaviour.
Members should still take sensible precautions when getting to know somebody new.
Privacy
A dating profile should not expose your private life.
MatedSouls does not display your exact postcode or home address to another member simply to calculate whether you live within a suitable distance.
LifeFit is designed so private answers can help the matching system without automatically becoming public profile information.
Another member might see that your expectations around family or future plans appear compatible without being shown the private answers used to reach that conclusion.
Useful compatibility does not require unnecessary exposure.
Romance fraud
Love should never come with a request for money.
Fraudsters can spend time building trust before inventing a financial emergency, investment opportunity or another reason why they urgently need help.
No genuine relationship requires you to prove your feelings by transferring money.
Warning signs worth noticing
Stop and think if something starts to feel unusual.
- 01Someone quickly asks to move the conversation away from MatedSouls.
- 02They repeatedly avoid reasonable opportunities to verify who they are.
- 03Their story changes or important details do not add up.
- 04They create an urgent financial problem and ask for money.
- 05They ask you to receive, transfer or invest money on their behalf.
- 06They pressure you to keep the relationship secret from friends or family.
Conversations
Less pressure. More control.
Messaging should help two people get to know one another, not create unnecessary anxiety or pressure.
No obsessive status tracking
We favour broad activity information such as “Active today” rather than encouraging people to monitor somebody else’s every login.
Safety controls stay visible
Block and report controls are kept close to the member interactions where people actually need them.
Meeting in person
A few sensible precautions can make a first date feel easier.
NextStep may help two people discover that they are both ready to meet. The decision about where, when and whether to meet is always theirs.
Meet somewhere public
For an early date, choose a public place where other people will be around.
Tell someone where you are
Let a friend or family member know who you are meeting, where you are going and roughly when you expect to be home.
Arrange your own journey
Having your own way to arrive and leave gives you control over when the date ends.
Protect your home address
There is no need to give somebody your exact home address before you know and trust them.
Trust your judgement
If something feels wrong, you do not owe anyone an explanation for ending the meeting or stopping contact.
Never let romance create financial pressure
Do not send money, share banking credentials or make investments because somebody you met through dating asks you to.
Reporting concerns
If something does not feel right, we want members to tell us.
MatedSouls includes reporting and moderation tools for suspicious accounts, harassment, inappropriate behaviour, scams and other safety concerns.
Reporting somebody should never require continuing the conversation with them.
Our approach
Safety is never finished.
Scams and abusive behaviour change over time. Our safety systems, moderation rules and member guidance will need to evolve with them.
The standard is not whether we can promise zero risk. It is whether we take reasonable risks seriously and respond properly when something happens.