April 5, 22

NEWS / Tinder adds criminal background check option

Tinder users can now run criminal background checks on their matches to check to see if they have had any history of violent or harmful behavior in the past. The check is conducted by nonprofit Garbo, which has partnered with the online dating and hookup platform. In order to initiate the search, the user would need to press the blue shield in the app, which would take them to the Safety Center from where they would be able to access Garbo. Users can conduct the background search with as little as the first name and phone number, although Garbo recommends using additional data such as full name, date of birth, and location to get more accurate results. Garbo would then use that information to comb through public records of arrests, convictions, and sex offender registry data in the United States. Users who find a history of violence associated with an individual are encouraged to report that individual to Tinder. The feature is the latest in a series of moves Tinder undertook with the aim of improving user safety. Match Group, the company that owns Tinder, announced that it was also partnering with the National Domestic Violence Hotline to give users the ability to chat with trained experts on healthy relationships and relationship abuse. The company previously added options for ID and photo verification for user profiles.