• Stud or Dud's survey puts fake or misleading profiles at 46% as the top dating frustration, ahead of ghosting at 30%.
  • 57% of the 1,000 US adults surveyed say they have caught a date lying, most often about age (36%).
  • Only about 20% mostly or completely trust dating profiles, yet just 9% have searched a date's criminal or legal history.
  • The release gives no margin of error, and the survey comes from a seller of date-research tools.

Fake or misleading profiles rank ahead of ghosting as US daters' top frustration, according to a survey from Stud or Dud, the AI date-research tool from PeopleFinders. Its Modern Dating Confidence Report, released on 10 November 2026, puts fake profiles at 46% and ghosting at 30%, and says 57% of respondents have caught a date lying.

Treat it as vendor research. The survey was run through Pollfish among 1,000 US respondents between 23 and 26 September 2026, and the release gives no margin of error or detail on how "top frustration" was asked. The word "overtake" implies a trend, but the release offers no earlier-year comparison. DII covered the product's launch in August.

The DII Take

The ranking matters less than the gap underneath it. Daters say they distrust profiles but mostly do nothing about it, and a $5 date-research tool has found that gap before the platforms have filled it. Operators should ask why a third party is selling verification to their members.

Distrust without much digging

According to the report, only about 20% completely or mostly trust what they read on a profile, while 44% trust it "a little" or "not at all". The most common lies were age (36%), relationship or marital status (34%) and photos (26%).

Behaviour lags the anxiety. 31% say lying about criminal history would be a dealbreaker, but only 9% have searched for it. The report's sharpest comparison is with everyday consumer habits. Only 36% have ever Googled a date, versus 61% who regularly research restaurants and 48% who research hotels.

Only 36% have ever Googled a date, versus 61% who regularly research restaurants and 48% who research hotels.

Appetite for verification is high on paper: 88% say they would be more likely to go on a date if they could verify the person first. The gaps are wide too. 31% of women feel unsafe meeting someone from online versus 8% of men, and 56% of Gen Z have cancelled a date over something found online versus 22% of Boomers.

What to watch

Independent data points the same way, though not comparably. In a 2022 survey, Pew Research Center found that 52% of dating site and app users had come across someone they thought was trying to scam them, and 40% said companies were doing a bad job rooting out bots and fake accounts. The FTC reported $1.14B in romance scam losses in 2023. The question is whether platforms respond with in-product verification or leave members to buy it elsewhere.

  • Stud or Dud's 46% figure for fake profiles is unaudited vendor data, but it echoes Pew's older finding on suspected scammers.
  • The 9% who have searched criminal history, against 88% who want verification, is the commercial opening for third-party checks.
  • Watch whether dating platforms answer with built-in verification rather than ceding the category.

Sources: Fake Profiles Overtake Ghosting as Daters' Biggest Frustration (PR Newswire / Stud or Dud); PeopleFinders Debuts Stud or Dud (PR Newswire / Stud or Dud); Key findings about online dating in the U.S. (Pew Research Center); The experiences of U.S. online daters (Pew Research Center); "Love Stinks" – when a scammer is involved (US Federal Trade Commission)