Verification
Four steps, in order. Each one unlocks more of the app. You can't message a match until step 3 is done. Sweatty connects, you decide who you train with.
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1
Email
Required at signup.
Confirms a working address. We send a single 6-digit code. No magic links you can't trace.
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2
Phone (SMS)
Required before your first match.
A real, current mobile number. One number per account. VoIP and disposable-SMS providers are blocked at signup — they're the number-one signal of a throwaway account.
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3
Photo liveness
Required before chatting with a match.
A short selfie video. We compare it to your profile photos and confirm it's a real, live capture — not a still image, not a deepfake. The selfie itself is never shown to other users; it's a server-side check only.
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4
Sweatty Verified badge
Earned after 3 completed sessions and no reports.
A small badge on your profile. It tells other users you've shown up, trained, and nobody flagged you. It doesn't tell anyone anything else about you — no real-name disclosure, no employer, no address.
Why we don't run background checks
Background checks sound reassuring. They're also expensive, slow, and miss most of what people are actually worried about. Across UK and EU data, most reported harassment on partner-matching platforms comes from people without any prior conviction — the check would have come back clean and you'd have trusted the wrong person more.
A DBS check costs around £18-£23 (UK), takes 8 weeks at standard pace, and only flags convictions and certain cautions. ACRO and equivalent EU checks are similar. None of them detect grooming, intimidation, or the kind of low-grade unpleasantness that ruins a workout.
We chose live verification, transparent reporting, and a fast human-review loop over a false sense of background-check security. If you want a partner who's been through a DBS — train at a regulated gym with employed staff. Sweatty is for finding peers.