Terms of Service

What VettedMatches is

VettedMatches is a dating service for adults (18+), launching in Seattle, WA. It is deliberately not like other dating apps: fewer people, real people. Everyone is government-ID verified, and everyone has a refundable deposit on the line that is earned back through genuine engagement. The cost is the filter: it is what keeps out bots, scammers, validation seekers, and ghosters.

Membership costs

• Signup fee: $100, non-refundable once verification succeeds (waived for founding members). If your ID verification is rejected, the fee is refunded.
• Engagement deposit: $100, refundable. You earn it back by engaging, per the schedule below.

The deposit schedule (deterministic)

These numbers are the same values the software enforces. Releases happen automatically when the condition is met:

• $20 released when a first conversation reaches 6+ substantive messages from both sides.
• $20 released at your first mutually confirmed meet.
• $20 released per 30 days of clean standing (no upheld flags).
• The remainder is released after 6 months of good standing, or in full when both members of a match confirm exclusivity (a successful match).

Forfeiture is equally deterministic: an upheld serious flag (catfishing, harassment, lying about a stated dealbreaker) forfeits the remaining deposit and terminates the account. A third upheld false flag against others does the same. Minor upheld flags (ghosting, chronic non-response) reset your 30-day clean-standing clock.

Flags, juries, and finality

• Reports ("flags") are triaged automatically and, when contested, decided by a jury of Trusted-tier peers who see only redacted evidence. Majority rules.
• You may appeal any verdict or forfeiture in-app within 14 days of the decision.
• After 14 days a decision is final and binding. You agree the in-app appeal is the exclusive way to contest a verdict or deposit outcome.
• Card disputes are not an appeal. Initiating a chargeback for a deposit forfeited under these published rules is a material breach: your account is terminated, and you authorize us to submit the complete evidence trail (these terms, your acceptance record, the flag evidence, and the jury verdict) to the card network.

Verification and honesty

• Membership requires a government ID and a live selfie, matched to each other and to your profile photos. Roughly 5 to 10% of applicants don't pass.
• Your profile's name, age, and height must match your ID.
• Misrepresenting your identity is grounds for immediate termination.
• Biometric processing (face matching) happens only with your consent, collected at upload. See the Privacy Policy.

Removal is permanent

Accounts denied at verification or terminated for cause may not re-enroll. We retain a minimal, hashed identity fingerprint of banned accounts (never the raw documents) specifically to enforce this. Attempting to return under a different identity is itself grounds for removal.

Conduct and safety

• No harassment, threats, hate, or sexual content without consent; no commercial solicitation; no off-platform payment requests (the classic romance-scam pattern is flaggable and terminable).
• VettedMatches verifies identity, but no screening system is perfect. We do not run criminal background checks. Meet first in public places, tell someone where you're going, and arrange your own transportation.
• If you are in immediate danger call 911. To report a safety incident, use the in-app flag or email us; we cooperate with law enforcement.

The usual terms

• The service is provided "as is"; we don't guarantee matches, dates, or relationships.
• To the fullest extent the law allows, our liability is limited to what you paid us in the twelve months before the claim.
• We may update these terms; continued use after an update is acceptance. The date above always reflects the current version.
• Questions: support@thevettedmatches.com