Tinder and Hinge Release New Safety Features
Contributed by: kellyseal on Monday, May 13 2024 @ 11:42 am
Last modified on Monday, May 13 2024 @ 01:56 pm
Tinder and Hinge announced new features to ramp up safety for their users, including sharing date details with family and friends and filtering unwanted language from comments and messages.
Tinder’s new safety feature Share My Date allows users to share date plans they make with their family and friends for additional safety, including details like location, date and time along with their match's photo. They can do this using the feature up to 30 days in advance, according to USA Today.
While Tinder says[*1] about 30 percent of its users already share this information with close friends or family, it makes it much more convenient and top-of-mind to be able to share via the app.
“At Tinder, we continue to release new features that aim to create a fun, safe, and respectful experience for all,” said Tinder CMO Melissa Hobley in a statement. “Discussing plans with friends and family is a time-honored dating ritual. Share My Date streamlines this basic info-sharing so singles can jump right to the exciting part, from figuring out what to wear to prepping conversation topics.”
Hinge is also rolling out a new safety feature[*2] called Hidden Words, which allows its users to filter out unwanted language from comments in their “Likes with Comments” feed. On Hinge’s platform, users can “like” specific parts of someone’s profile and choose to add a comment that the person can read (without matching with them first). However, not all comments are welcome.
According to USA Today[*3] , Hinge cited in its safety report that online harassment has been on the rise on dating platforms, especially for women and the LGBTQ+ and BIPOC communities. Hinge hopes to combat this trend by curbing harassing language in one of its more popular features (Likes with Comments).
With Hidden Words, users can create a personalized list of words, phrases, or emojis that they don’t want to see in their feed, according to USA Today. When the words show up, they are moved to a separate place on the app where they can be reviewed or deleted. Users will also have the option to block and report the offender if they wish.
The Hidden Words list can be edited at any time.
The Daily Mail pointed out that users are already taking advantage of the new Hinge feature by listing the unoffensive words and phrases they are sick of seeing on dating profiles, like “Sunday walks” and “traveling.” The feature already seems to be a hit, if not in the way Hinge intended.
The Hinge feature is already rolling out and the new Tinder feature will be rolled out in several countries over the next few months. Tinder also plans to expand its ID verification feature to more countries.