Following Bumble, Tinder will also be adding a feature that will save victims from “bad actors”. The dating app revealed that in an update,which will be coming out in the upcoming weeks, it will make reporting “unmatched” profiles easier, which will make it harder for bad actors to use the feature to hide from their victims.
This update, in both dating applications Bumble and Tinder, came after a seemingly trivial issue caused the users of the apps to have a bad experience. After matching, bad actors would engage in malpractices, and then use the unmatch feature. Once “unmatched”, the chat history would disappear from the victim’s phone, which would have allowed the user to more easily report the abuse to Tinder or even to law enforcement.
However, people can still report someone who has already unmatched from the Match List. The process, currently, is a bit complex and therefore many are not aware of it. The company says that it will make it easier for people to report someone who has unmatched. In the new update, the company will add its Safety Center directly within the Match List. Tapping the shield icon will take the user directly to the application’s safety center where information about how to report someone who isn’t displayed on the Match List will be front and center, the company states.
Bumble’s solution to this problem is much smoother and easier. The dating application said that once someone unmatched, the chat would still be present and the user will be shown a message that says the other person has ended the chat. Here, the users will be given the option of either deleting the chat or reporting it. This ability of direct reporting makes it easier for the victims to take action.
In the same blog post, the company said why it believes the “unmatch” option to be an important safety feature. The company says that it lets its users unmatch someone at their own discretion. There are several reasons for which a person might unmatch someone. It might be because they have changed their mind about the match but it might also be because they felt threatened or unsafe by the conversation. Therefore, the company says it is one of the most important safety features of the application.
Tinder’s parent company has also announced that it has partnered with a large anti-sexual violence organization, RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network). The organization would conduct “a comprehensive review of sexual misconduct reporting, moderation, and response across Match Group’s dating platforms”. It has been announced that the organization would review Tinder, Hinge, and Plenty of Fish to find out the best practices that should be followed by these dating platforms. According to the report, the partnership that commenced today will continue throughout 2021.
