Dating apps like Tinder, Bumble and Coffee Meets Bagel saw an increase in user activity during the coronavirus pandemic. Kristina Partsinevelos from FOX Business with more.
Tinder’s parent company Match Group will implement background check technology in the popular dating app before implementing it on the rest of its relationship platforms.
To make this screening feature available to users, Match Group has announced that it will partner with Garbo, a background check platform founded by women that is designed to “proactively prevent gender-based violence in the digital age”.
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Garbo’s background check feature will be integrated into Tinder first later this year. According to the Match Group, these background checks collect public records and documented cases of violence or abuse, including arrests, convictions, restraining orders, harassment and other violent crimes.
“For a long time, women and marginalized groups in all corners of the world have faced many resource and security barriers,” said Tracey Breeden, head of security and social defense at Match Group, in a statement.
“We recognize that companies can play a key role in helping to remove these barriers with technology and true collaboration rooted in action,” she added. “In partnership with Match Group, Garbo’s careful and innovative consumer background check will enable and empower users with information, helping to create equitable paths for safer connections and online communities across technology.”
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While Garbo’s background check feature reports some documented crimes, the Match Group’s press release reiterated that the third-party platform is focused on exposing previous violent behavior.
Non-violent arrests related to drug possession and traffic violations will be excluded from background checks. This policy is being implemented due to Garbo’s close work with racial equality and gender justice groups, which have pointed out inequalities in the criminal justice system for marginalized people.
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“Before Garbo, abusers could hide behind expensive and hard-to-find public records and reports of his violence; now it is much more difficult, ”said Garbo founder and CEO Kathryn Kosmides in the statement. “Being able to reach historically underserved populations is central to Garbo’s mission and partnering with Match will help us connect with these communities.”
Likewise, Natalie Ludaway, a member of the Match Group Advisory Board, said the company’s partnership with Garbo is “a real and meaningful step in giving people access to information that can help make a real difference in their decision making. safety”.
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| Ticker | Safety | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MTCH | MATCH GROUP, INC. | 153.93 | +0.55 | + 0.36% |
Garbo’s background check technology will be added to the rest of Match Group’s digital properties, including dating platforms like Match.com, Hinge, Ok Cupid, Our Time, Plenty of Fish, Meetic and Pairs.
It is unclear whether the history checking feature will cost Tinder users and other Match Group subscribers. As a separate entity, Garbo offers “low cost background checks”. More details will be provided in the coming months.
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The Match Group reportedly had 10.9 million users who paid for a subscription in the fourth quarter of 2020, according to Statista.