Beauty filters boost men’s attractiveness but dent their trustworthiness in online dating profiles

While beauty filters can enhance physical attractiveness in online dating profiles, they may also raise questions about trustworthiness, according to new research published in the journal Computers in Human Behavior. However, the study — which examined women’s perceptions of male dating profiles — ultimately suggests that the allure of heightened physical attractiveness outweighs the reservations arising from diminished trustworthiness.

Online dating has become increasingly common, with many short-term and long-term relationships forming through mobile dating applications like Tinder. A notable trend in online dating is the widespread use of beauty enhancement filters, which users apply to their profile pictures to increase their attractiveness. This trend is expected to continue due to advancements in artificial intelligence.

Despite the prevalence of beauty filters in online and mobile dating, there was a notable lack of empirical studies that examined the causal effects of using these filters on dating outcomes. This research gap prompted the researchers to investigate the impact of these filters.

“The use of filters on mobile dating apps like Tinder has become widespread in recent years — and the on-going progress in artificial intelligence will likely add to this trend,” said study author Markus Appel, a professor at the University of Wuerzburg. “How do potential dating partners respond to profiles with unedited versus edited pictures? Very little empirical research had addressed this question of theoretical and practical importance.”

The study used an initial pool of 10 unedited photos of different young men. Each photo was then edited using FaceApp, resulting in a pool of 10 original (unedited) and 10 edited photos of the same men. A pilot study with 42 women was conducted to select the most suitable photos based on physical attractiveness and perceived visual enhancement. Four photos were selected for the main experiment. Each selected photo was integrated into a Tinder profile screenshot, including the man’s name and age.

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For the main experiment, Appel and his colleagues recruited 241 female participants from the Prolific participant pool, ensuring they met certain criteria such as being single, aged 20-28 years, heterosexual or bisexual, fluent in English, and residing in specific countries (UK, USA, Canada, Ireland, Australia, or New Zealand).

The profiles were randomly presented to participants, with two profiles featuring original (unedited) photos and two profiles featuring edited photos. Based on the profiles alone, the young women were asked to rate various measures of the men on a seven-point Likert scale, including dating intention (“Would you swipe right? i.e., Would you be interested to date this person?”), physical attractiveness (“This person is very good looking”), and trustworthiness (“This person conveys an honest impression”).

The researchers found that profiles with edited photos were perceived as more physically attractive than profiles with original, unedited photos. This result supports the hypothesis that beauty filters enhance perceived physical attractiveness. However, profiles with edited photos were also seen as less trustworthy than those with original photos, indicating a potential downside to using these filters.

“Idealized self-presentation in terms of using beauty filters has a twofold effect: By editing their pictures, people on online dating apps might substantially increase their attractiveness, as ascribed by potential partners, but evaluations of trustworthiness are likely to decrease,” Appel told PsyPost.

But the positive impact on physical attractiveness appeared to outweigh the decrease in trustworthiness, as participants expressed higher dating intentions for profiles with edited photos. This suggests that while beauty filters may raise questions about trustworthiness, the enhanced physical attractiveness is the more significant factor driving increased dating intentions among women.

“A limitation is that we investigated women’s perceptions of male dating profiles,” Appel noted. “Future research is encouraged to examine men’s perceptions of women using beauty filters. We would, however, expect similar results. Research with a specific focus on participants from non-Western cultures, different ethnic backgrounds (our target photos showed white men), or sexual orientations are further needed.”

The study, “Swipe right? Using beauty filters in male Tinder profiles reduces women’s evaluations of trustworthiness but increases physical attractiveness and dating intention“, was authored by Markus Appel, Fabian Hutmacher, Theresa Politt, and Jan-Philipp Stein.