Tinder is adding background checks for violence or abuse
The capability will be tested over the next few months.
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Tinder is adding background checks.
Tinder parent company Match says it's bringing background checks to its dating apps. Tinder will be the first to have Garbo, a female-founded non-rofit background check platform, integrated into its system later this year. The background check capabilities will be tested on Tinder in the next few months, with the system to be added to other Match dating apps in the US after that.
Garbo collects public records and reports of violence or abuse, such as restraining orders, harassment, arrests and convictions -- but the nonprofit also works with racial equity and gender justice programs due to the "inequity in the experiences of people of color in the criminal legal system." As a result, Garbo excludes from its background checks any arrests made in relation to drug possession and traffic violations, as they disproportionally affect marginalized groups.
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Match, which also owns dating services Hinge, OkCupid, Plenty of Fish, Pairs and Meetic, has made "a significant contribution" to Garbo as part of the arrangement.
"Before Garbo, abusers were able to hide behind expensive, hard-to-find public records and reports of their violence," Garbo CEO Kathryn Kosmides said. Match and Garbo are helping remove these barriers to resources and safety through technology, said Tracey Breeden, head of Safety and Social Advocacy for Match.
No word yet on how it'll work or how much the service will cost users.