--- title: "ODDA Urges Apple, Google to Block Leviev's App" url: https://www.datingindustryinsights.com/news/tinder-swindler-launch-dating-app-protect description: "ODDA asks Apple and Google to block Simon Leviev's app. Will this move signal a shift in industry standards or just a symbolic gesture?" lang: en-GB --- Trending Three Day Rule's AI Assistant Tai: A Middle-Market Gamble?: https://www.datingindustryinsights.com/news/three-day-rule-matchmaking-app-ai | ODDA's Easy Win: Blocking Leviev's App Tests Industry's Real Resolve: https://www.datingindustryinsights.com/news/tinder-swindler-launch-dating-app-protect | Match Group's Governance Under Fire: The Sentinel Data Dilemma: https://www.datingindustryinsights.com/news/match-group-sued-over-dating-safety | DOWN's Fake Ticket Stunt: A Masterclass in Irresponsible Marketing: https://www.datingindustryinsights.com/news/down-dating-app-fake-parking-tickets | Romance Scam Prevention Act: A Compliance Burden or a Trust Opportunity?: https://www.datingindustryinsights.com/news/us-senate-bill-dating-apps-scammers Share on X: https://x.com/intent/post?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.datingindustryinsights.com%2Fnews%2Ftinder-swindler-launch-dating-app-protect&text=ODDA%27s%20Easy%20Win%3A%20Blocking%20Leviev%27s%20App%20Tests%20Industry%27s%20Real%20Resolve Share on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.datingindustryinsights.com%2Fnews%2Ftinder-swindler-launch-dating-app-protect Share on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.datingindustryinsights.com%2Fnews%2Ftinder-swindler-launch-dating-app-protect Image: A smartphone displaying a mobile app store interface next to a digital security shield concept. (https://images.pexels.com/photos/5709526/pexels-photo-5709526.jpeg?auto=compress&cs=tinysrgb&w=1200&h=220&fit=crop&fm=webp&q=50&dpr=1) A smartphone displaying a mobile app store interface next to a digital security shield concept. Regulatory Monitor (https://www.datingindustryinsights.com/news?category=regulatory-monitor) # ODDA's Easy Win: Blocking Leviev's App Tests Industry's Real Resolve By DII Regulatory Monitor (https://www.datingindustryinsights.com/author/regulatory-monitor)· September 25, 2026· 6 min read ## Key Points - • The Online Dating and Discovery Association wrote to Apple and Google requesting heightened scrutiny of a planned dating app called Safe Love, founded by Simon Leviev. - • Simon Leviev was convicted of fraud, theft, and forgery in Israel in 2019 after allegedly manipulating women met on Tinder into transferring money. - • Data from Action Fraud shows that victims of romance fraud in the United Kingdom lost £92M in 2022. The Online Dating and Discovery Association has asked Apple and Google to block Simon Leviev's planned dating app before it reaches their stores. Leviev — who was convicted in Israel in 2019 of fraud, theft, and forgery, and became internationally known after Netflix's The Tinder (https://www.datingindustryinsights.com/products/tinder) Swindler documented women's claims that he manipulated them into handing over large sums of money — is positioning himself as a safety advocate. His pitch: a platform called Safe Love that will protect women from romance fraud, leveraging what he describes as insider knowledge of how scammers operate. The irony is almost too neat. But ODDA's intervention raises a more substantive question than whether Leviev has the chutzpah to pivot from convicted fraudster to dating safety entrepreneur. It tests whether the industry will draw a public line around reputational risk, and whether Apple and Google will enforce standards that app store policies leave conspicuously vague. Image: Person using mobile dating application (https://images.pexels.com/photos/13973197/pexels-photo-13973197.jpeg) Person using mobile dating application The DII Take This is the easiest call ODDA will make all year, (https://www.datingindustryinsights.com/news/ross-williams-hubpeople-venntro-database-rebuttal) and that's precisely why it matters. Opposing a convicted fraudster's dating app requires no political capital, no negotiation with members over compliance costs, no regulatory interpretation. It's a reputational gimme. The real question is whether this signals a new willingness from the trade body to police the sector's boundaries on harder cases — or whether it's performative opposition that allows the industry to look serious about trust whilst systemic scammer proliferation continues largely unaddressed. We suspect the latter, but we'd be delighted to be proven wrong. ### Create a free account Unlock unlimited access and get the weekly briefing delivered to your inbox. ## What ODDA Actually Asked For According to the trade body's public statement, ODDA has written to both (https://www.datingindustryinsights.com/news/veriff-joins-online-dating-association) Apple and Google requesting that they 'consider the risks of distributing a dating service founded, operated or fronted by' Leviev. The letter asks the platforms to examine Safe Love closely before approval. The phrasing is careful. ODDA isn't demanding an outright ban — it's asking for heightened scrutiny of an app fronted by someone with a 2019 fraud conviction in Israel and whose alleged conduct (depicted in Netflix's documentary, which Leviev disputes) involved meeting women on Tinder, cultivating trust, and persuading them to transfer money (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tinder_Swindler). That's diplomatic language for what most operators think privately: this shouldn't get within 500 metres of the App Store. Safe Love has not launched. No product screenshots, no App Store listing, no evidence the platform exists beyond Leviev's pitch. But ODDA's preemptive intervention suggests the trade body believes platform approval is plausible enough to warrant early action. Image: Online security and fraud protection concept (https://images.pexels.com/photos/5159948/pexels-photo-5159948.jpeg) Online security and fraud protection concept ## Platform Precedent and the Reputation Loophole Apple and Google's app store approval processes operate as effective gatekeepers for the dating market, but their standards remain opaque. Both companies maintain guidelines prohibiting apps that facilitate illegal activity or pose safety risks, yet enforcement has been inconsistent. Apps with documented safety failures have remained available whilst others have been removed on vague 'reputation' grounds. > The Leviev case introduces a wrinkle those policies don't directly address: what happens when an app's functionality may be legitimate but its founder's background represents reputational poison? Leviev is framing his criminal history as qualification rather than disqualification (https://www.datingnews.com/apps-and-sites/apple-google-urged-to-block-dating-app-planned-by-tinder-swindler/amp/) — the 'white hat hacker' defence applied to interpersonal manipulation instead of technical systems. Whether that distinction holds water for platform review teams could set precedent for how app stores assess founder backgrounds against product claims. The stakes extend beyond one opportunistic pitch. Action Fraud reported that UK victims lost £92M to romance fraud in 2022, figures that understate the problem given widespread underreporting. Dating platforms have faced mounting regulatory and public pressure over scammer proliferation, yet industry-wide safety standards remain voluntary and inconsistent. Operators implement verification, moderation, and reporting tools at vastly different levels of rigour. The DSA will mandate baseline requirements for larger platforms, but much of the market operates in a self-regulatory grey zone. > ODDA's letter hands Apple and Google a test case with an obvious answer. Rejecting an app fronted by a convicted fraudster requires no policy innovation. But the industry's broader credibility on trust and safety depends on addressing harder questions. ## Collective Action or Easy Target? The dating industry has historically struggled with coordinated action on safety issues. Individual operators compete on trust and safety features whilst resisting standardised requirements that might increase costs or limit growth tactics. Trade bodies navigate member interests that often conflict — larger platforms can absorb compliance expenses that burden smaller competitors, whilst niche apps argue that prescriptive rules ignore category-specific contexts. Leviev's proposed app offers ODDA something rare: a reputational threat with no organised constituency. No member company benefits from defending his market entry. No regulatory grey area complicates the response. No competitive tension emerges between standardisation and differentiation. That makes this a revealing measure of what collective industry action looks like when it's costless. ODDA can demonstrate concern about fraud without requiring members to implement expensive verification systems, lobby platforms without alienating any operator segment, and claim a symbolic win if Apple and Google decline to distribute Safe Love. Image: Mobile app store interface on smartphone (https://images.pexels.com/photos/36765285/pexels-photo-36765285.jpeg) Mobile app store interface on smartphone The harder test will come when the industry faces safety questions that actually divide members — whether to support mandatory ID verification, how to define acceptable response times for reported harassment, what baseline moderation coverage platforms should maintain. Those debates involve trade-offs between security and growth, standardisation and innovation, user protection and operational margin. Whether platforms approve or reject Safe Love will signal how much weight app stores assign to founder backgrounds when evaluating dating apps. But whether the dating industry uses this moment to push for broader safety standards (https://www.itv.com/thismorning/articles/the-infamous-tinder-swindler-is-back-with-a-dating-app) — or simply claims credit for opposing the most obvious bad actor imaginable — will signal whether ODDA has the mandate and appetite to act when the stakes are higher and the answers less convenient. ## Key Takeaways - • App store gatekeepers like Apple and Google face pressure to evaluate founder backgrounds and reputational risks alongside technical app safety features. - • The Online Dating and Discovery Association intervention highlights how trade bodies easily unite against obvious reputational threats without forcing member platforms to adopt costly mandatory safety standards. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What app is Simon Leviev trying to launch? ### Why did the Online Dating and Discovery Association contact Apple and Google? ### How much money was lost to romance fraud in the UK in 2022? D DII Regulatory Monitor (https://www.datingindustryinsights.com/author/regulatory-monitor) Policy & Regulation Desk The DII Regulatory Monitor tracks legislation, enforcement action, safety rules and compliance across dating industry markets. More articles by DII Regulatory Monitor (https://www.datingindustryinsights.com/author/regulatory-monitor) ## Comments Join the discussion Industry professionals share insights, challenge assumptions, and connect with peers. Sign in to add your voice. Your comment is reviewed before publishing. No spam, no self-promotion. ## More in Regulatory Monitor View all → (https://www.datingindustryinsights.com/news?category=regulatory-monitor) Regulatory Monitor ### Match Group's Governance Under Fire: The Sentinel Data Dilemma Match Group's internal Sentinel database logged hundreds of sexual assault and violence reports weekly by 2022, tracking… Friday 25th September (9 hours ago) · 1 min read Read → https://www.datingindustryinsights.com/news/match-group-sued-over-dating-safety Regulatory Monitor ### DOWN's Fake Ticket Stunt: A Masterclass in Irresponsible Marketing DOWN dating app placed fake parking tickets with QR codes on vehicles at University of North Texas without authorisation… Friday 25th September (11 hours ago) · 1 min read Read → https://www.datingindustryinsights.com/news/down-dating-app-fake-parking-tickets Regulatory Monitor ### Romance Scam Prevention Act: A Compliance Burden or a Trust Opportunity? The US Senate has unanimously passed the Romance Scam Prevention Act, requiring dating apps to notify users within 24 ho… Friday 25th September (14 hours ago) · 1 min read Read → https://www.datingindustryinsights.com/news/us-senate-bill-dating-apps-scammers Regulatory Monitor ### Dating Apps' Safety Crisis: A Regulatory Reckoning Looms 99% of heterosexual women in Australia experienced tech-based abuse on dating platforms in the previous quarter, with in… Tuesday 22nd September (3 days ago) · 1 min read Read → https://www.datingindustryinsights.com/news/99-percent-women-abuse-dating-platforms Up next: Match Group's Governance Under Fire: The Sentinel Data Dilemma (https://www.datingindustryinsights.com/news/match-group-sued-over-dating-safety) ## Structured data ```json [ { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "NewsArticle", "headline": "ODDA's Easy Win: Blocking Leviev's App Tests Industry's Real Resolve", "description": "ODDA asks Apple and Google to block Simon Leviev's app. Will this move signal a shift in industry standards or just a symbolic gesture?", "abstract": "ODDA asks Apple and Google to block Simon Leviev's app. Will this move signal a shift in industry standards or just a symbolic gesture?", "image": [ "https://images.pexels.com/photos/5709526/pexels-photo-5709526.jpeg" ], "datePublished": "2026-09-25T11:57:22+00:00", "dateModified": "2026-09-25T11:57:22+00:00", "inLanguage": "en-GB", "isAccessibleForFree": true, "wordCount": 1133, "articleSection": "Regulatory Monitor", "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "DII Regulatory Monitor", "url": "https://www.datingindustryinsights.com/author/regulatory-monitor", "jobTitle": "Policy & Regulation Desk", "description": "The DII Regulatory Monitor tracks legislation, enforcement action, safety rules and compliance across dating industry markets.", "knowsAbout": [ "Online dating industry", "Dating app business models", "Match Group", "Dating industry regulation" ], "sameAs": [], "worksFor": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Dating Industry Insights", "url": "https://www.datingindustryinsights.com/" } }, "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Dating Industry Insights", "url": "https://www.datingindustryinsights.com/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://www.datingindustryinsights.com/images/am-rebrand-logo.jpg" }, "parentOrganization": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "High Intent Media Inc", "url": "https://www.highintentmediagroup.com" } }, "mainEntityOfPage": { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://www.datingindustryinsights.com/news/tinder-swindler-launch-dating-app-protect" }, "isPartOf": { "@type": "WebSite", "name": "Dating Industry Insights", "url": "https://www.datingindustryinsights.com/" }, "speakable": { "@type": "SpeakableSpecification", "cssSelector": [ "article h1", "article .article-body > p:first-of-type" ] }, "alternativeHeadline": "The Online Dating and Discovery Association wrote to Apple and Google requesting heightened scrutiny of a planned dating app called Safe Love, founded by Simon Leviev.", "mainEntity": { "@type": "ItemList", "name": "Key points", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "The Online Dating and Discovery Association wrote to Apple and Google requesting heightened scrutiny of a planned dating app called Safe Love, founded by Simon Leviev." }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Simon Leviev was convicted of fraud, theft, and forgery in Israel in 2019 after allegedly manipulating women met on Tinder into transferring money." }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Data from Action Fraud shows that victims of romance fraud in the United Kingdom lost £92M in 2022." } ] }, "backstory": "App store gatekeepers like Apple and Google face pressure to evaluate founder backgrounds and reputational risks alongside technical app safety features. 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