too easy to cheat
As others have said, with appropriate redaction (address, dob, DL number) it's not an issue. I can understand a female cuddler meeting up with a male random stranger wanting to have some documentation about who she met up with. It can be a scary situation to walk into and I like to put them at ease. I don't think I've exposed any crucial data by showing my government ID to prove I am who I say I am.
@Morpheus I've seen that as well, banned pros back (recognize their picture) with a new username. My only guess is that they used info of a friend to create a new profile.
@dave31415 i’ve been wanting to use this for a long time and your comment qualifies lol 😂
Red flag not necessarily, depends on who is asking as some profiles look trustworthy and some can look off for a few different reasons. I wouldn't do it online but in person I could accept.
It's not a problem for me. It seems like Women have more concern with safety issues and deal with attacks more often. I understand why they would want some kind of assurance. I would just cover up my address and my birthday. As well as the expiration date.
@Sooson Ha well if we are using a fake id as an example it’s easy to cheat. If they try that on a real id the fake image will be much easier to spot.
If they are using fake photos from some random person’s instagram, they would need to doctor a dmv photo of the same person.
Edit: It’s not like we the recipient is verifying it with the dmv. Mainly need to match the ID with the photos they sent or the person they talk to on video chat.
Being asked to show your Id is common, upon meeting with a new pro, I have no problem with that as long as the pro is willing to show hers. We all need to make sure we r as safe as possible. I had Pros tell me clients dont even use there real names.
@CharlieBear OK makes sense. by the way I wouldn't mind at all doing a video call though no one ever asked me for that either.
@wilderdude I may be wrong but I don’t think the site looks at credit card info etc in an effort to spot previously banned pros. I think the pros who are banned again are either reported or recognized by a mod because of their pic.
@SKYCATCHER there are a lot of pros who don’t use their real name either. I’ve had pros who once they get to know me, tell me they use a fake name on CC. The best is when their social media profiles are recommended to me because I have their number in my phone and I see their real name is totally different than what they’ve told me lol I honestly don’t really care. I do always use my real name though.
I always show ID. Right after I give my mothers maiden name. Before I meet any person. On the World Wide Web. Cuddle comfort is a website. Not a bank, or a check cashing place..... Wait 😐👀🤐🦸🤦♂️🎭💯..... I need some oxytocin...I got cheeseburgers for a little fix.. 🙇♂️🤹♂️
@ScroogeMcducky They always ask me what street I grew up on, my first pets name, and the name of the city I was born. They are so interested in me!
Its only ok if she's also willing to send me a picture of her ID.
I think is ok for them to do background checks of the people they are going to meet on sites like beenverified, intelius etc. Important to be sure the person is not a criminal or have previous felonies and not a sexual predator. All for safety of course.
I'm on Cuddle Comfort and also have my own website, and I ask for a form of Government Issued Photo ID before I will conduct sessions. Along with doing an online course I also did direct training with someone who has been working as a Professional Cuddler since the mid-2000's, they're based in America and there were about 8 people in the class and I was up at about 2am to make the class as I'm Australian. The place I studied with actually "Safety Courses for Professional Cuddlers" for free because they think that even if you don't want to invest in this business that you should have access to free safety information and in that demo it says to ask for a form of Government Issued Photo ID. I think asking for a form of GIP ID is a necessary safety measure that would deter most people with nefarious intentions.
So, a Professional Cuddler asking for ID might be a sign that they've had some training. Platonic Touch Therapy is an unregulated form of therapy, kind of like how Eyelash Extensions are unregulated; but you'll probably feel a bit more comfortable getting services from someone if they've had training.
On my website I have an encyrpted form called a Jotform that clients fill out, sometimes before even speaking with me; I've had maybe 10% of my personal website clients ask questions about the ID aspect of the form. If I have my consultation with clients before they fill out the form, I explain that I ask for the same information that any other therapists office would, I ask for your name, first and last, a few points of contact, email phone, and I ask for a form of Government Issued Photo ID and there is also a section for clients to fill out if they have any additional needs or if there's anything they want their Therapist to know, e.g. Mobility Limitations, in Personal Crisis, going through a Separation.
However, on Cuddle Comfort, I've had quite a few more people question the ID aspects on the form, and some we managed to talk through it and they ended up submitting the form. However, a few were really insistent on seeing me without ID which I continued denying, since then, I've had another Pro approach me and inform me that 4 of those individuals have since been inappropriate with them. So, for me, asking for a GIP ID saved me from people who did indeed have nefarious intentions.
@SnuggleBugFi 💯
I think what a lot of folks aren't realizing is that, if someone wants to create a fake redacted identification, it's really not all that difficult using photoshop. So then, what's the real purpose of the requested ID? It's to make a (usually female) cuddler feel safe and secure, but this is a false sense of security. But it is the responsibility of the each cuddler to provide a method for making the other feel safe and secure.
OTOH, some people won't want to reveal even a redacted driver's license, and some don't even drive. I've done 2 cuddle sessions (both pros), and neither one had a DL/car. The first took public transportation to get to my hotel (I was traveling and in LA at the time) which I reimbursed her for, and the second one I picked up from (supposedly - if not true I don't care, if she lied she did it to feel safe) where she was staying with a friend/fellow pro. But in both cases, I directed them to my FB profile where they could see I'd been on FB since around 2007 or so, had a decent number of pictures, etc. and was who I said I was. Nowadays, not a lot of folks probably don't have FB profiles.
So the best way (if you don't want to give someone even a redacted ID) is to ask them, or propose, alternate methods of identity verification that they will accept. If neither side will budge and both are intractable, well, it's time to get a different cuddler.
@SnuggleBugFi that's your prerogative, but I will guess more than 99% of the Pros here have no formal training or professional website. Most don't know the site's rules that apply and they agreed to, let alone their state or local laws, like paying taxes. It's too often approached as an easy cash side hustle, not as a real business or job as you seem to be doing.
I would only send an image of my photo ID if I could redact address and driver's license number. If that wasn't sufficient to meet the cuddler's needs, I would wish her well and move on to someone else.
I get @SnuggleBugFi 's point that a doctor or therapist's office would often make a photocopy of my driver's license on the first visit. But to me that's not the same thing. Medical professionals have to abide by the provisions of HIPAA, and face steep fines if they maliciously or accidentally release someone's personal information.
What recourse do I have if a cuddler does something with an image of my ID?
No pro cuddler thus far (I've seen ~10) has asked for ID, either ahead of a session or in person. Some have asked for documentation of where I work (i.e. an employment webpage) or a phone conversation ahead of our session. One even asked if we could have a public meet and greet. All fine, and I get the safety concerns.
But with regards to IDs, my line in the sand is a redacted version sent digitally, or showing it in person.
I personally don’t think asking for a government issued ID is very helpful anyway. I think it would be much more useful if you ask for a photo of them holding up a paper with both their user name and yours and the date. Then you have a recent photo taken specifically for you. Sure this can be faked as well but it seems much more useful having the person in the photo holding something to identify them than just a photo of an ID you can’t actually verify.
@CharlieBear You really need to stop making sense. It makes the rest of us look bad.
@CharlieBear So if I hold up a photo of me with today’s newspaper and a piece of paper saying “Chris Hemsworth 3/27/2024” I should be good to go?
The point of asking for an ID is not to prove they can drive a car. The point is disincentivizing a person from harming you because, if they do, you have the information to report them.
So, storing the information until after the session is required. Assuming you (client) have no intention of hurting them, you just have to worry about how your information will be stored and used.
If they are a person with lots of karma, you probably don’t have a lot to worry about. But if they are a scammer or something, they could be stealing your identity. They could use the information to blackmail you (e.g. you are married without spouse knowing). They could be involved in prostitution, get arrested and then the FBI has your name in their investigation report of probable “Johns”. So there are some things to worry about until you have a sense that they are reputable. So I think pros should not ask until they have built some karma. And clients should probably not give personal information to people with no karma. Of course people can make these decisions for themselves.
I do require ID with name and photo (the rest can be redacted), and I store it safely before I met them. If they don’t agree to this, we can do an all public session.
@SnuggleBugFi
...Platonic Touch Therapy is an unregulated form of therapy, kind of like how Eyelash Extensions are unregulated...
Would you be an advocate for government encroachment into, and regulation of, the business of giving and receiving hugs?
I have always requested id, not necessary for anything besides that making sure the person is who they say it is specially if you are hosting for a session. If someone doesn’t want to identify, you can always be expose for any type of situation specially if you are a woman and you are hosting at your home. You have to see the bigger picture of why someone will request and if and try to understand it. This personally bring me inner peace that they don’t have nothing to hide and I am always happy to share mine as well.
@CharlieBear just share a great example of how to share id!
I’ll always said “Which owes nothing fears nothing“ And that has always allowed me to have high quality experiences thankfully to connect with amazing people on this platform.
Happy cuddles everyone! 😊
If cuddlecomfort validated the identity of its members, would those of you that require IDs still require them?
@latinavip @BoomerSpooner @Sooson
(If someone edits this, it will not end well for you! 😅🥸)
@CharlieBear 😄😄😄