Tinder, which is planning to add a background check feature to its platform in the United States, may also introduce similar services for its international users, Laura Wilkinson-Rea, the director of communications for Northern and Eastern Europe at Tinder, told Sputnik
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 17th March, 2021) Tinder, which is planning to add a background check feature to its platform in the United States, may also introduce similar services for its international users, Laura Wilkinson-Rea, the director of communications for Northern and Eastern Europe at Tinder, told Sputnik.
On Monday, Tinder, one of the most popular dating apps worldwide, announced the introduction of in-app background checks in a move that comes amid rising concerns over the safety of digital dating.
"We plan to pilot this partnership in the U.S. but will look for similar services for our international users," Wilkinson-Rea said when asked if Tinder plans to expand the new option beyond the US.
Texas-based Match Group, which apart from Tinder owns Match.com, Meetic, OkCupid, Hinge and PlentyOfFish dating services, partnered with background checking platform Garbo to develop the feature which will allow the users to view the public records of their future dates. This info includes any "reports of violence or abuse, including arrests, convictions, restraining orders, harassment, and other violent crimes," the company said.
"Before Garbo, abusers were able to hide behind expensive, hard-to-find public records and reports of their violence; now that's much harder. Being able to reach historically underserved populations is fundamental to Garbo's mission and the partnership with Match will help us connect with these communities," Kathryn Kosmides, the founder and CEO of Garbo, said.
Kosmides, who is a survivor of gender-based violence, created Garbo back in 2018 with the aim of providing people with more transparency about those they connect with.
Match Group is planning to start testing and adapting the Garbo technology on Tinder in the coming months.
