Tinder Removes Social Handles from Profiles and Revises Community Guidelines

Dating app Tinder announced it will be removing social media handles from user profiles and has revised community guidelines to prevent users from advertising and self-promoting. It will also request that users not share private chats in public settings.

The dating app company said in a press release: “Tinder is not a place to promote businesses to try making money. Members shouldn’t advertise, promote, or share social handles or links to gain followers, sell things, fundraise, or campaign.”

Self-promotion has become an issue on its platform according to Engadget. To curb this kind of behavior, the company said it will be removing social handles from public profiles and prohibit the sharing of other promotional information such as links to online stores or websites.

In addition to social media handles and business promotion, sex work, couples’ profiles and posting private chats in public forums are all officially against the rules, according to the new guidelines.

Image: Tinder

Tinder revised its community guidelines to remind users to respect privacy and boundaries, including asking users to not share private messages in public spaces. According to Engadget, the dating app has noticed this trend among younger daters aged 18 to 25.

“To guide these younger daters as they start their dating journey, Tinder is using this policy refresh to remind and educate members about healthy dating habits — both online and in real life,” said Ehren Schlue, SVP of Member Strategy at Tinder in the statement the company released about the changes.

Couples in polyamorous relationships were also addressed in the company’s community guidelines update. Tinder users can no longer post couples’ profiles. Each person in the relationship is required to create their own profiles and choose the Relationship Type they desire.

In recent years, people have gravitated to Tinder not only to date, but to network as they do on other social apps. Singles are also turning to apps like Instagram to date, blurring the lines of the purpose for each social app. Tinder aims to change this with its new rules, and focus people back to dating on its platform.

The company will encourage users to report abuses in these areas so Tinder can issue warnings and restrict access for those violating its new terms. “We reserve the right to investigate and/or terminate accounts without a refund of any purchases if we find you have misused the Service or behaved in a way Tinder deems inappropriate, unlawful, or in violation of our Community Guidelines,” the app notes in its policy.

Tinder is also reminding people to communicate respectfully. The company’s release states: “Tinder is not a place for hatred, bigotry, or violence, especially when it’s caused by how another member identifies or looks.”