Tinder Releases Safety Guide for College Students

In time for students headed off to college, Tinder has released a new safety guide to help them navigate dating on campus.

According to Campus Safety Magazine, Tinder sees the highest number of new eighteen-year-old users in August and September when the school year begins. And while freshmen are excited to meet new people and date, dating violence is common on college campuses. Tinder wanted to take a proactive step and provide some guidance.

Tinder’s “Campus Crush Dating Guide” provides advice to help users meet people and date more safely, including knowing their self-worth and what they want from dating. The app points out the large number of users on college campuses, and encourages users to write complete bios, post at least four photos, and list their interests (with an emphasis on music preferences), so that they can attract the right matches.

The app also lays out its safety features in detail, including Incognito Mode, which only makes their profile visible to someone they’ve liked. The guide also encourages users to let a friend know where they are going when they make plans to meet someone, according to Campus Safety Magazine.

Another tip is to look for “photo verified” users as an extra precaution, as well as those who provide complete profile information (at least four photos, a bio, and interests as mentioned above) so they can get a more complete picture of who they are meeting.

The Guide also advises for users not to rush into anything, especially if a match is pressuring you to meet quickly or to go to another platform to communicate (which scammers often try to do). Most importantly, Tinder outlines how to unmatch, block and report a user if someone makes you feel uncomfortable. 

According to the Department of Justice, women between the ages of 16 and 24 experience the highest rate of intimate partner violence – more than any other demographic. College students are especially vulnerable to dating violence and abuse.

A study from non-profit LoveIsRespect.org found that 43 percent of dating college women reported experiencing violent and abusive dating behaviors, which included physical, sexual, digital, verbal or controlling abuse. And nearly a third of college women say they’ve been in an abusive dating relationship, while 52 percent said they’ve known a friend who has experienced violent and abusive dating behaviors.

Tinder’s guide also instructs users how to talk about their dating situations, listing different phrases in a glossary at the end of the guide, such as benching, love bombing and cushioning.

For the pdf version check out Tinder's Campus Crush Dating Guide. For a more comprehensive dating guide that was released earlier in the year that includes many more details on how to stay safe on Tinder see the Tinder Dating Safety Guide. This guide in our opinion is much better and worth reading.