Tinder to Offer Background Checks for Dates

Garbo is a non-profit provider of Background Checks

Tinder announced that it will offer background checks on potential dates, a new measure that parent company Match Group has taken to improve safety for users of the app. Currently no dating app conducts criminal background checks on users, so this is a huge step forward for safety advocates.

Match Group has partnered with Garbo, a non-profit that provides background checks, and plans to debut an in-app background check feature on Tinder later this year according to The Washington Post. There are no details yet on the cost of the service.

Tracey Breeden, Match’s new head of safety and social advocacy, said in an interview: “This gives [Tinder users] an opportunity and that comfort level. Maybe they want more information before they have a video chat, maybe they want more information before they meet in person.”

Women have often been left to their own devices when it comes to assessing their safety in meeting people for a date. Many rely on Google searches or feedback from other dating app users, while others take things a step further and conduct their own background checks, which can be time-consuming and expensive since public records are scattered across different agencies. This feature will make it easier to access crucial information.

Tinder has come under fire in the past year for the way it handles complaints of sexual assault and harassment. An investigative report by The Australian Broadcasting Company (ABC) found that not only were accusations not properly addressed, but many women who filed complaints never heard back from the company at all.

As The Washington Post points out, safety has been an issue on dating apps for years. In a 2020 report from Pew Research Center, 60 percent of female users younger than 35 said that they had continued to be contacted by people they met on a dating service even after they told them they weren’t interested. About 57 percent said they had been sent a sexually explicit message without being asked or giving their consent.

Garbo pulls information such as arrests, convictions, orders of protection from publicly available sources and compiles them into an easy to read report. A potential issue with Garbo is that it requires a full name and phone number to access those records, which means a Tinder user will have to figure out a way to get that information from potential dates. Garbo will only report violent crimes, rather than minor charges such as drug possession, the company points out, and will not provide any emails or physical addresses to prevent stalking and abuse.

Privacy advocates have raised concerns about whether and how this information will be stored on the app, though Match Group has stated that it will not “ask for or store” any background check information on any user. 

“It’s not a silver bullet,” Breeden told The Washington Post. “People want to be responsible with that information and understand that it is just one more tool to add, and one more tool to having access to information.”

For more information on the dating app offering this feature you can read our Tinder review.