Bumble's new feature will use selfies to verify your identity

Bumble users will soon have a new way to make sure the profile they're looking at isn't fake.

The company will launch a new photo feature next week that will allow users to go through a verification process that uses selfies to verify their identity.

The feature will begin to roll out next week. It will first show up to people whose profile photos have been previously flagged. Those users will be required to go through the process within seven days.

Once you initiate the verification process, Bumble shows you an image and asks you to take a selfie mimicking the onscreen gesture. That selfie is then reviewed in real-time by one of the company's moderators, who will check that your gesture matches up and your selfie matches the images in your profile. The entire process typically takes less than a minute, according to the company.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Bumble founder Whitney Wolfe told Mashable the feature was in part inspired by some of the app's more high-profile users, whose accounts are often reported because other users assume they're fake. This, by the way, is a problem on other dating apps too -- Tinder also cited this as a reason for its verification process.

But, unlike Tinder and other social networks who reserve verified badges for celebrities and other public figures, Bumble is opening up its verification process to all its users. The feature will expand to all users in an update expected within the next two weeks, according to Wolfe.

Wolfe says that it should improve the experience for all users, both from a safety perspective and in terms of engagement -- even if you're not a public figure. While it's too early to say what the impact of the feature will be, she says that early tests indicate verified users have more success on the app.

"It does suggest someone with a verified profile has better results," Wolfe says.