MTN’s Rate’nDate, For When You’re Just Looking For Love

Online dating has its perks for some who actually find the love of their lives, but what happens when it turns sour and the person you were virtually dating becomes a living nightmare?

MTN has a service called Rate’nDate which allows subscribers on the network to make new friends and possibly date. For a minimal daily subscription of K0.40 and a weekly one of K1.30, you can create a profile and according to MTN’s Facebook page,“ask users to rate you while you also view other user’s profiles and rate them”. 

If the intent to rhyme the words ‘rate’ and ‘date’ were that big a deal in making the service get attention, it sure did. The word ‘rate‘ means to put  a value on the standard and quality, and in this case, of a person. Is this really how they want to play? This concerns us because of the fact that while it appeals to singles over 18 mostly, these people may also have had a hard time finding dates in their ordinary day life and resorted to the internet. If  they have  a hard time already finding a date through other means, would they really want further stress by being rated by strangers? We fear for their self-esteem seeing as some people can make really nasty remarks about others’ looks, even if they are what is considered on average “hot”, just because they can.

It may seem like a great way to meet new people and make friends, but before you go all trigger happy talking to everyone, there are things to consider.

The profile of the person may be made up. MTN says you have to create a profile, which makes us wonder what the KYC/SIM registration process was for if they are the ones providing the service. They could have made the profile auto-fill itself by the subscriber’s information already on their servers, obviously not the very private information though. This would reduce the chances of the people opting for Rate’nDate have no chance to lie about things like their age, occupation or location.

Here are the disclaimers by MTN about Rate’nDate:

• If a user under 18 years is found on Rate’nDate, MTN has the right to remove that user and take any further action deemed necessary.
• Your profile including your photo will be made public to other users as well as the general public who will be able to rate you and initiate chats with you.
• MTN will not accept any responsibility for the content of communication between yourself and other users.
• MTN will not be held responsible for any loss, harm or damage incurred by you as a result of using the service.
• Rate’nDate platform will in no way serve as a platform for use to advertise anything without consent from MTN.
• You as the customer will take full responsibility for exchanging contact details with other users and with establishing contact with them.
• MTN and Rate’nDate retain the right to ban a user from the service if deemed necessary and it is in our sole discretion to do so. In this case, you won’t be allowed to use the service.

Yes you are signing up at your own risk in short so please be careful of the people you meet. It’s a great move, don’t get us wrong. So many people could finally meet the love of their life, or just friends on Rate’nDate. Never share personal data like addresses, and most importantly don’t meet anyone in private. Always go to a public place, and with a friend if possible.

Find out more here, and if you’re already signed up. Let us know how it’s going for you.

Good luck, soulmate searchers!