Dating App Rater Allows Singles to Share Their Input on the Dating Pool

The Short Version: Rater is a dating app that’s getting ahead of scammers, catfishes, and inauthentic profiles with a user-based verification and rating system. Nicole Drew is the founder and CEO of Rater, and she filled us in on the app’s founding story and key features. After Nicole had been the victim of a romance scam, she felt that the dating app she had used to meet the scammer didn’t do enough to resolve the situation and prevent future scams. Rater provides users with a star rating based on user input, which is carefully measured by a questionnaire. 

An ex’s opinion about you may not be the most reliable thing in the world, but I would be lying if I said I’ve never wondered what some of my ex’s exes would have to say about them. Conversely, I’ve also spent some painstaking periods wondering what my exes would have to say about me.

This kind of rumination isn’t beneficial for your emotional health, but it does point out an important truth about dating.

As with any other way of socializing, when we date, we rely on input and information from others to help form our judgments. Whether it’s friends or dating coaches, we go to the people around us to explore and make sense of burgeoning romantic connections. It’s not just natural – it’s a great way to stay balanced throughout the dating process.

Rater is a dating app that encourages users to rely on the input of the people around them, which, in the app’s case, is other singles. The dating app employs a star-based rating system that allows users to rate others based on interactions within and outside the app. Nicole Drew is the founder and CEO of Rater, and she talked to us about why she created the app and what users can expect from it.

While Rater certainly protects users from the kind of singles they wouldn’t want to date, it also protects them from catfishing, scams, and other suspicious activities that are all too common in online dating.

“When I decided to create Rater, I knew I wanted to create a kind of human rating verification questionnaire,” Nicole said. “I wanted to gauge the initial experience with other users on the app and be able to measure how authentic and real they are.”

Nicole was 30 years old, a successful career professional, and — like many other dating app users — ready to make real connections. She was living in the San Francisco area and decided to try her hand at dating apps. Nicole soon met a man who seemed amazing in every way. 

Despite the man living two hours away, the two went on several dates and texted daily. Nicole said she felt like the connection they shared was undeniable.

“It was October 31, and we had been seeing each other for about a month,” Nicole said. “Suddenly, he came to me in a panic and said he had been a victim of identity theft. They took everything from him, and he needed money for rent and groceries for him and his daughter.”

Nicole said the man told her he couldn’t get help from anyone in his family, and she was his only option. Nicole said she had no reason not to trust him and gave him a loan of $1,500. “Shortly after, his demeanor completely changed, and he kept asking for more money. Two weeks later, and I knew I had been scammed.”

The scam was understandably devastating for Nicole, and she found herself with little recourse. “I confronted him over the phone, but I had never been to his home, so I couldn’t go and find him.” She reported him on the app they connected through but said the results were unsatisfactory.

“They didn’t remove his profile, and I had absolutely no way of warning other women about this guy,” Nicole told us. “What I decided to do with Rater was get ahead of these scammy and inauthentic profiles.”

When you join Rater, you start by going through a vigorous verification process. Nicole said the verification process includes a background check and is an essential aspect of keeping the platform safe. She said she considers the rating system a second layer of protection against bad actors, with the first being verification.

Users will verify their identity through AI-powered facial recognition technology. Once they’ve been verified, they’ll be run through a background check for violent felony and sex offender activity before they’re able to complete their profiles.

Nicole said Rater’s atmosphere is more comfortable and secure than that of many other apps. “The checks foster a more healthy environment because you know you’re going to be rated, verified, and checked. If you’re a scammer or catfisher, you shouldn’t even consider it.”

Dating benefits from social checks, which can be overwhelmingly absent online. Many people say and do things online they would never say or do in person, which can come at the detriment of healthy online dating culture. A culture of anonymity and few consequences doesn’t do much to foster an authentic dating environment.

Rater is putting social checks back into online dating. Users can source information from other people in situations similar to theirs and interact with the same users they do. It’s not just an exciting new way to date, but also one of the safer online dating options out there.

The rating and questionnaire system may be at the forefront of Rater’s offerings, but that’s not all the app offers. Users will find Rater is chock-full of the familiar dating app features, plus more. Rater uses compatibility-based matching and allows users to personalize their profiles to show their personalities.

Once two Rater users have matched and chatted, they can rate one another. The rating system is based on human experience and is designed to identify catfishers and scammers. Users also have access to a simple reporting system that allows them to report scammy profiles to the Rater team.

Rater’s features attend to the aspects of dating that are often neglected when it goes virtual. Radar by Rater is the app’s in-person event programming, featuring pop-up singles mixers in select cities across the country. Swiping fatigue can be a real issue for many online daters, and in-person events offer the perfect solution.

Many singles are becoming tired of the status quo of online dating, yet it remains one of the easiest ways to meet other singles. Rater is leveling up the online dating game for modern daters, and Nicole said she’s looking forward to growth in the next year.

“I always tell people to date with intention,” Nicole said. “Once you know what you’re looking for, it’s a little easier to find it. I would also utilize any in-person dating option whenever you can. Even if you just find a friend, you’re building community, and it’s worth it.”