Good news for Tinder daters seeking greater safety and information about their match. My interview with Lifewire explores the benefits of Tinder’s new background check feature from Garbo. #onlinedating #datingsafety #Tinder
Key Takeaways
- Tinder is adding a background check feature to users who want to scope out potential dates.
- The background checks will provide information like a history of violence or abuse and restraining orders.
- Experts say the online dating world is full of dangers, and remember to think of your safety over finding love.
Editor Allison Matyus writes,
“Tinder will soon allow you to perform a background check on a potential date in hopes of making the online dating game safer for everyone involved.
The addition of background checks will allow users to see if the people they are interested in have an alarming criminal record. With online dating becoming the norm for more and more people, especially during a pandemic, experts say background checks are a necessary addition to the dating world.
“I think that Tinder adding this feature is brilliant,” Susan Winter, an New York City-based relationship expert and love coach, told Lifewire over the phone.
“We don’t know who is behind that profile: we don’t know if they are single, if they are a stalker, if they are harmful…we don’t even know if they want a relationship.”
The Dangers of Online Dating
Tinder is partnering with the nonprofit online background check platform, Garbo, to provide the option of background checks to its users. Users will be able to pay to get a background check, with details like arrest records or histories of violent acts, by inputting their date’s phone number and full name.
Garbo’s website says it collects “public records and reports of violence or abuse, including arrests, convictions, restraining orders, harassment, and other violent crimes,” all things you should know about someone before meeting them in person.
Many people already vet their dates by deep diving into their social media profiles and scouring their internet footprint. But since social media only shows you what people want you to see about them, Winter said that Tinder’s new feature will surpass the social media method.
“When the prospect of love lies ahead, people will do things they wouldn’t normally do.”
“[Tinder] is really trying to eliminate violence and unnecessary risks,” she said. “[Background checks] are the real deep dive here.”
While online dating poses a range of dangers, about 19% of women between 18-34 report that someone on a dating site has threatened to physically harm them, according to a 2020 Pew Research study. The study also found that 35% of all online dating users say that someone has sent them a sexually explicit message or image they didn’t ask for.
Winter said online dating risks also involve scammers—either people saying they are someone who they are not or duping someone to give them money. According to the Federal Trade Commision, reported losses related to romance scams reached a record of $304 million last year.
“What happens with all of my clients in online dating is they hit a wall where they are so upset and so disappointed at the fraud, lies, and inaccuracy,” she said.
Continue reading: https://www.lifewire.com/how-background-check-could-make-online-dating-safer-5116376
