How we protect you
Safety here is not an extra.
FOUND LOVE is built from the start against fake profiles, bots and scams. And because no technology catches everything, we also tell you honestly what you can look out for yourself.
We verify people, not just email addresses.
Before you receive suggestions, you confirm your email, phone and identity – step by step. The same applies to everyone else.
Email
The beginning – nothing more.
Phone
Makes mass accounts and bots much harder.
Identity & age
Through an identity verification service. We never keep a copy of your ID.
Photo
Optional but recommended: a badge shows that your photos really show you.
What a check means – and what it doesn’t
| We verify people, | Shows | Doesn’t show |
|---|---|---|
| Email confirmed | Shows: The address belongs to the person. | Doesn’t show: Who the person is. |
| Phone confirmed | Shows: There’s a reachable number behind the account. | Doesn’t show: Name or age. |
| Identity & age verified | Shows: An identity service has checked their ID and that they’re an adult. We only receive the result. | Doesn’t show: That the profile photos show the person. |
| Photo verified | Shows: The photos match the verified person. | Doesn’t show: That everything in the profile is true – nobody can verify intentions. |
In this demo environment all checks are simulated and labelled as a demo.
How verification worksWhat FOUND LOVE does for you.
Only verified people
Suggestions and messages are only available after confirmed email, phone number, identity and adulthood.
No ID copies with us
A specialised service handles the check. We only store the result – no ID image, no biometric data.
Nobody messages you unasked
A conversation only opens once you both show interest. Messages are part of Premium and Premium+ – reporting and blocking are part of every plan.
Hints at the right moment
If someone talks about money, investments or crypto, wants to move to another messenger right away, or sends links and contact details, you get a calm hint.
Protection from mass messages
Anyone writing unusually fast, to many people or with identical texts is automatically slowed down – until someone from our team takes a look.
Report and block
On every profile and in every conversation. Blocked people can no longer see you or write to you.
No exact location
Others only see your city and a rounded distance. Your exact location is never stored.
Private photos
Photos are stored without location or camera data and only shown via short-lived, signed links.
Warning signs of romance scams.
Scammers build trust over weeks before asking for money. If you notice several of these signs, take your time – and report the profile.
Asking for money
For an emergency, a plane ticket, customs fees, a visa or a hospital bill – no matter how believable the story sounds.
Vouchers and gift cards
Nobody who is serious about you needs gift card codes or prepaid vouchers.
“Safe” investments
Hints at a trading platform, crypto or a “guaranteed return”. This is one of the most common online dating scams.
Quickly moving elsewhere
Wanting to continue on WhatsApp, Telegram or Instagram right away – where you lose the protection of reporting and blocking.
Big feelings, very early
Declarations of love after a few days, big plans for the future before you have ever met.
Meetings never happen
Video calls or dates are cancelled again and again at short notice – often for dramatic reasons.
The most important rule: never send money to someone you don’t know well in person.
The first date.
The vast majority of encounters are lovely. A few simple habits make them even more relaxed.
- Public place
- A café, a restaurant, a busy park – somewhere you feel comfortable. Not at your home or theirs.
- Tell someone
- Let a friend know where you are, who with and when you’ll check in again.
- Your own way there
- Arrive and leave on your own. That way you decide when the evening ends.
- Personal details later
- Your address, employer or surname don’t need to come up on the first date.
- Trust your gut
- If something feels wrong, you may leave without explanation. You don’t owe anyone a date.
- In an emergency
- In Austria you can reach the police on 133 and the European emergency number on 112.
Safe, just as you are.
For queer, trans and non-binary people, online dating can raise extra questions – such as who learns what about you. FOUND LOVE is designed so that you decide.
What FOUND LOVE does for this
- Gender identity and orientation are hidden by default. Only what you share becomes visible.
- Nobody sees who you are looking for – other members only learn that you were suggested to each other.
- Other members only see your profile when you are suggested to each other. There is no public search and no profile pages for search engines.
- We detect nothing automatically: no inference from photos, faces, messages or behaviour.
What you can do yourself
- Share at your own pace
- What you tell people about yourself, and when, is up to you. Nobody is entitled to your story before you trust them.
- Choose photos with care
- If you are not out everywhere, pick photos that don’t unintentionally reveal your workplace, home or circle of friends.
- A meeting place that feels right
- A public place where you feel comfortable and safe – for example a venue you already know to be welcoming.
- Pressure is a warning sign
- Anyone who threatens to tell others about you, or demands photos and information, breaks our rules. Report it, including blackmail attempts – and don’t pay.
If you are looking for support outside FOUND LOVE: Austria has counselling services for LGBTIQ+ people, for example in Vienna, Graz, Linz, Salzburg and Innsbruck. In case of threats or violence, contact the police (133).
What our rules say about thisReporting – and what happens next.
You can report every profile and every conversation. The reported person does not learn who reported them.
Report
You choose a reason and can briefly describe what happened. If you like, you block at the same time.
Risk assessment
The report is combined with other signals into an assessment. At high risk the account is restricted provisionally – provisionally, not permanently.
Fast protection, decision by our team
Whoever reports someone stops seeing that person right away. With clear indications, an account is restricted automatically as a precaution. Someone from our team always decides about a suspension or permanent closure, never an automated process alone.
Decision with reasons
The affected person learns which measure was taken and why. Every decision is logged in a traceable way.
Appeal
Anyone affected can have the decision reviewed. Another person looks at the case again.
Possible reasons
- Fake profile
- Identity misuse
- Scam
- Harassment
- Inappropriate content
- Request for money
- Spam
- Other
Our principles
- We assess risk only by behaviour and abuse signals – never by appearance, popularity or income.
- Automated measures are always reversible: slowing down, additional verification, provisional freezing.
- There is no public rating of people – no stars, no visible trust score.
- The chat scanner is rule-based and explainable. It doesn’t block messages, it gives hints.