Who’s your Daddy? Tinder, ancestry kits drive rise in paternity test requests

Tinder and other online dating apps are driving a spike in requests for paternity tests, according to a forensic scientist who specialises in DNA testing.

Tinder and other online dating apps are driving a spike in requests for paternity tests, according to a forensic scientist. Picture: iStock.

Tinder and other online dating apps are driving a spike in requests for paternity tests, according to a forensic scientist who specialises in DNA testing.

Kate Pippia, who founded DNA-testing facility Identilab six years ago, says she’s seen a big increase in the number of men requesting tests.

“We’ve seen the popularity of paternity testing rise … we do get a lot of people who have met someone on Tinder or a dating app,” she said.

“(It appears) the whole ‘safe sex’ message is not really being talked about … we get a lot of people coming to us who don’t even know the child’s name, where there hasn’t been any sort of relationship with the child’s mother, other than getting pregnant.”

DNA-testing facility Identilab founder Kate Pippia said 92 per cent of the DNA requests her clinic processed related to paternity. Picture: iStock

Ms Pippia said 92 per cent of the DNA requests her clinic processed related to paternity with new research showing 5 per cent of parents questioned their parentage.

As well as dads suspicious they may not be their child’s biological father, the rising popularity of ancestry kits was also contributing to the rise, she said.

“I think people would be surprised how often a paternity test is required to prove a child and father are related,” she said.

“People come to us looking for answers but the reasons for getting a test can be quite different.

“In some cases, someone who has been given an ancestry kit for Christmas for a bit of fun, only to discover a skeleton in the family closet … the rising popularity of ancestry kids has definitely had an impact on the number of people requiring a DNA test.”

Ms Pippia said men were often emotional when they reached our.

“The majority of our customers are … overwhelmed by the situation they have found themselves in …it is very stressful to find yourself in a position where you are questioning whether your child is yours, or whether your parent is yours,” she said.

Testing generally takes five business days and requires a saliva swab from the parent and the child.

While home kits are available, for the test to be legally binding – and force a birth certificate change – it is necessary for a medical professional to take the swabs.

“A negative result can be received in a variety of ways, some people are relieved, while others are obviously quite devastated,” Ms Pippia said.

“Misattributed paternity can be a difficult topic to unpack, often changing a person’s life forever, creating complex relationships and having long-term effects on multiple parties within a family unit and their mental wellbeing.”

Siblings sometimes sought to find out if they were full rather than half siblings, she said.

Originally published as Who’s your Daddy? Tinder, ancestry kits drive rise in paternity test requests