@Sandy370
Agreed, this change (no photo prior to booking acceptance) felt like a step backward when it was introduced, and rather scary.
But, do bear in mind, once you accept the booking, you'll see the guest's photo straight away. If you then felt uncomfortable – say, eg, the guest photo shows some kind of psycho/weirdo-looking person – you'd be able to contact Airbnb and tell them you're uncomfortable with the booking, and hopefully cancel penalty-free.
My experience, prior to the change, was that I did sometimes accept people whose photos were lacking in some way... but their profile and reviews reassured me.
My experience after the change hasn't been any different... no horror stories, so far 😉
As others have said: how much faith can you put in someone's photo anyway?