Tinder will save you from dreadful dates with a background check tool

Pocketnow

By Nadeem Sarwar

Published Mar 15, 2021

Match Group says it will begin testing Garbo's background analysis tool by integrating it with Tinder in the coming months.

Match Group – the company behind some of the most popular dating apps out there such as Tinder, OkCupid, and Hinge – has partnered with Garbo to bring a background check feature to its dating platforms, starting with Tinder. Garbo is a non-profit that offers background check services, providing historical personal data such as records of violence and abuse. Garbo’s background check tool will first make its way to Tinder later this year, and will soon arrive on its sister dating services too.

Background check will also expand to other dating platforms owned by Match Group such as Hinge and OkCupid

The Tinder-owner says it will begin testing the background analysis tool by integrating it with Tinder in the coming months. Garbo describes its goal as a service that aims to prevent gender-based violence by providing low-cost background checks courtesy of data sourced from public records. It flags incidents such as reports of violence or abusive behavior, convictions, harassment, restraining orders, and arrests. The objective of integrating Garbo’s background check tool with the dating services is to help people make informed decisions, especially women and those who hail from marginalized communities.

The company adds that accessing background data is not always easy, and neither is it cheap, but Garbo democratizes access to this critical and potentially life-saving information. In the official announcement post, it is mentioned that Garbo’s background check service will exclude reports of arrests owing to drug possession and traffic violations, as they are claimed to impact people from marginalized groups disproportionately.

It flags reports of violence or abusive behavior, convictions, harassment, restraining orders, and arrests.

Last year, Match Group joined hands with anti-sexual violence organization RAINN to initiate an extensive analysis of sexual misconduct reporting, moderation, and response mechanism across the company’s dating platforms. Both the parties also worked together to bolster the existing safety systems and features put in place in apps such as Tinder and Hinge to name a few. To recall, Tinder also launched a one-on-one video chat feature last year when the pandemic made in-person meetings non-feasible.