Tinder adds background check function

Tinder is introducing a tool inside its app that lets users run background checks on prospective dates, reports The Wall Street Journal.

Users will be able to find the new function in the app’s safety center, which will direct them to submit information to Garbo Technology, a non-profit background check organization.

“This is the first that’s been done in this industry,” Tracey Breeden, head of safety and social advocacy at Match Group, told WSJ.

Tinder members will be asked to enter their own personal details as well as any they have on their match, like name and phone number. Garbo will surface arrests and convictions for certain violent crimes, as well as sex offender registry status, according to WSJ.

Tinder’s parent company Match Group invested in Garbo last march, when it began developing the background check. Match runs several other dating services, such as Match.com, OkCupid, and Hinge.

The dating company has come under fire over sexual assaults and other crimes following matches on their apps. A man in Denver was arrested last month for robbing at least two women he met on Tinder and other dating apps/sites, reported Fox 2 Detroit.

However, some have noted that in-app background checks may have unintended consequences.

A false positive or report with few details could make some people fearful, Naomi F. Sugie, a criminology professor at the University of California, Irvine, told WSJ. She also said that background checks are inaccurate and definitions of crimes may vary from state to state.

Garbo responded that it has taken steps to limit the shortcomings of background checks, such as indicating high, medium and low confidence for each report.

Another is by only reporting certain crimes to Tinder members. For example, it will exclude arrests and convictions for financial crimes from more than seven years ago, homicides or robberies more than 14 years ago, and any for minor offenses like marijuana possession, vandalism and loitering.

“Background checks are not a silver bullet and are not a one-stop-shop for being safe,” Kathryn Kosmides, founder and CEO of Garbo, told WSJ.