Take Control: Hily’s New Feature Makes Consent a Must for Exchanging Sexual Messages And Photos

No more surprise nudes—unless, well, you actually want them

October 1st, 2025, Las Vegas — With 38% of all dating app users having received unsolicited sexual content, Hily Dating App introduces Consent Guard. This new feature puts daters back in control over whether they want to receive and exchange sexual content eliminating unsolicited sexual behavior and making the dating experience safer and more respectful.

Consent Guard is all about empowering users with consent first sexuality. No matter how someone uses the app — whether they love sexting, prefer to keep things G-rated, or change their mind from match to match—Consent Guard lets daters set boundaries. Hily believes everyone deserves control over their inbox and a dating space shaped by consent.

“People’ve gotten too used to some online behavior that wouldn’t be tolerated in real life. Imagine a stranger approaching you on the street and exposing themselves—that would be shocking and unacceptable. The same goes for similar actions in digital spaces. We talk a lot about sexual consent in real life, but digital consent often gets overlooked. That’s why our team created Consent Guard: with this feature, both people now get to agree before a conversation turns intimate—just as it should be, online or offline,” says Liubomyr Pivtorak, CPO at Hily Dating App.

The feature was developed in collaboration with Dr. Mindy DeSeta, Hily Dating App sexologist and sexuality educator with a Doctorate in Clinical Sexology. She provided insights on the culture of sexual consent, consent harassment and appropriate language and tone of voice when asking for, declining and accepting consent to exchange explicit messages.

“Unsolicited pics have never really worked: they’re mostly just a turn-off. Hily’s new Consent Guard feature actually empowers your sexuality by putting you in charge of how you date, what you share, and how sexy you want to get. Instead of having an explicit photo pop up at the worst possible moment, imagine getting a notification that someone wants to get a little hot and heavy. That’s mental foreplay! Consent is not a mood killer—it’s actually a big turn-on,” says Dr. DeSeta, sexologist and sexuality educator at Hily Dating App.

Here’s how the feature works: Using a combination of machine‑learning models and custom algorithms, Hily anonymously scans specific words in text and elements in visual content. The analysis isn’t linked to personal data, and it never scans conversations between users. When such words or visual elements are identified, the message will not be sent and consent guard steps in immediately. The sender receives a prompt to request one-click consent (the sender consents automatically by sending the consent request). If the answer to the request is no, no explicit content gets through. If the request goes unanswered, the conversation simply continues as normal. Each user can send up to three consent requests per chat. Additionally, daters can adjust their consent settings any time, making Hily totally customizable to whatever mood they’re in (hot, chill, or “not tonight, please”). 

Consent Guard replaces Hily’s older Explicit Filter feature (which blurred unwanted photos for review), stepping up to give users the power to decide before anything appears. With Consent Guard, Hily’s daters shape their experience, their way.

About Hily 

Hily (pronounced like ‘highly’) is a dating app designed to connect singles with new people while supporting them in remaining authentic. Short for “Hey, I Like You,” it invites users to have fun and not look for a perfect match. 

By encouraging everyone to date as they are, Hily is breaking one of the biggest curses of online dating—feeling pressured to hide your true self. Praising self-exploration, self-acceptance, open-mindedness, and inclusivity, the app helps people put real connections first and keep competition at bay by unlocking their unique, fabulous selves. With features like icebreakers, compatibility checks, messaging, Major Crush, and zodiac synastry, Hily helps users express who they really are and connect in genuine ways. 

Launched in 2017, Hily has become one of the top 10 dating apps in US app stores, with over 39 million users worldwide.