Skip to content

Start a new discussion »

eHarmony launches RelyID

Being located out of the United States, I don’t receive nag emails or see commercials about the eHarmony add-on called RelyID (pronounced “rel-yeed”). Well the company put out a press release yesterday on the service, despite that it has been available since early last year.

I can view the offer though, of course, by temporarily ‘migrating’ myself to the United States:

eHarmony RelyID

Wow, like, I pay $6 to prove I am who I say I am? Hey that’s a great way to treat customers … You’re guilty until you pay $6 to prove you’re innocent. Hello?!

According to eHarmony, you lose your badge if you change your address. (FAQ #503)

Online Dating Post wrote a great, opinionated review of the service yesterday

… In short, background checks and identity verification services are a good thing for the online dating industry. Background checks are more about perception than reality, whereas identity verification services are fairly straightforward. Some dating sites will demand them, others, like eHarmony, will offer them as a value-added service, hoping that a Verified icon on a profile will make people feel better about contacting you, which will drive more members and revenue. Verification services are all about revenue, don’t forget it. dating sites won’t offer them unless they see money on the table or are legally bound to do so. … Read the rest of Dave’s post

Mark Ezra of a competing service “Honesty Online” commented in Online Personals Watch:

… eHarmony’s current verification process can be easily circumvented – if you know where a person has lived and their phone numbers, you should be able to pass their test and use someone else’s identity. … Read the rest of Mark’s comment

Last November, a fan of a competing product “CrimShield” opined that the service should be bundled free, i.e., mandatory for each eHarmony member. Indeed absorbing $6 a year per paid subscription is nothing compared to the millions of dollars they spend on primetime TV advertising.

eHarmony RelyID badgeDo you have a RelyID badge? How many of your matches have the badges? Is this a reliable indicator which isn’t a dead profile? If doling the cash makes you serious in your search, does a RelyID badge makes you dead-serious?

Update: I spoke too soon about the RelyID offers

Related links:

Do you like this article? Post a comment on Facebook

More on eHarmony Blog

What others are reading right now

Comments 4

  1. Scott Grey wrote:

    “Excuse me, but before I date you, I’ll need you to pay for an identity verification service….”

    Sorry, if you need this in order to exchange phone numbers or meet in a public place, I’ll pass.

    Would a person with RelyID be more serious? Iffy. At least one eHarmony Cracked member has reported being offerred one free of charge. And, in my experience, I’ve only seen one Rely ID from a match.

    Accepting a “free” offer doesn’t make you serious. And paying for one makes you a little weird, IMHO.

    Posted 15 Jan 2008 at 7:46 am
  2. SingleGuyInNC wrote:

    The only thing I can see it helping with are the scammers trying to use the service.

    Someone legitimate trying to use the service for nefarious reasons wouldn’t be screened out by this. Using your common sense or a more thorough background check would actually be useful.

    I can see at least one reason why someone legitimate might not use it as currently implemented: Using your real first name instead of a nickname would deny you any anonymity you may have (for those that have uncommon/foreign names).

    Posted 15 Jan 2008 at 8:38 am
  3. Cam wrote:

    There has been much controversy about background checks among the different online dating sites in recent years. It has been said that sites like eHarmony with their claims of perfection in screening tends to create a false sense of security for users.

    The bottom line is that this age of online anonymity puts us all at risk. Online predators use the internet like a catalog… searching and shopping for their next victim. We must do all we can to protect ourselves if the dating sites aren’t willing to. An instant identity check measure like RelyID is just one more step in false security. It has been proven time after time how ineffective “instant” background checks are. They merely run supplied info through an incomplete database.

    The only way to obtain an accurate background check on anyone… including yourself… is to have it done by a private investigator with some hands-on research. Identity verification is only the first step of many. I was so happy when I found Crimshield — these guys really have it figured out. You can do a top-quality accurate background check on yourself and then allow those you choose to verify your crime-free background credentials online. So… the background check gets done right… but the verification system is the instant part.

    This product has been all over the news here in Arizona… I hope it catches on in other parts of the country as well. As far as the expense of getting a background check done on yourself… you are saving others the expense and awkwardness of asking… and if you aren’t willing to spend a few days and a few bucks in order to give your relationships the peace of mind that you are crime-free… then you must be hiding something :)

    Posted 24 Mar 2008 at 12:31 pm
  4. me wrote:

    How about the fact that their verification is full of holes? Take for example, this user:

    First Name: Katy
    Last Name: (Private)
    Street Address: (Private)

    I won’t post the rest of the RelyID information for her protection and because it’s unnecessary. Point being, her name isn’t Katy, it’s Kathy. She typoed her screen name. So whos identity are they validating? Not Katy. There is no such person! RelyID is a scam.

    Posted 15 Apr 2010 at 10:53 am

Post a Comment

Your email is never published, shown nor shared.

Your message appears after two to five seconds for the world to see. In case it isn’t obvious, we are not eHarmony. Your message will not be sent to them, and no, we cannot help you with your account.

Have your own topic? Start a new discussion. XHTML: You can use these tags: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>

Subscribe without commenting

Geo Visitors Map