Tinder to Allow Criminal Background Checks

Tinder is taking lessons from The Tinder Swindler. The dating app said yesterday that its users based in the United States will now be able to do a criminal background check on their matches in order to help surface red flags about potential dates’ violent or harmful past behavior.

The new ability to perform background checks is part of a partnership between the parent company of Tinder, Match Group, and nonprofit background check provider Garbo.

The background checks will return results that Garbo says would be “relevant to the user’s safety,” so most likely about gender-based violence. Some information, including drug possession or loitering, would be excluded. It also won’t include personally identifiable information, such as the person’s address or phone number. 

Every user will have access to two free background checks, and then after that, they will cost $2.50 plus a processing fee to fund Garbo’s operations. 

Tinder users will now see a background check tool integrated into the Safety Center of the app, which will direct them to Garbo’s website. At the first step, the user will only have to provide the match’s first name and phone number, but if it does not yield results, add additional information, such as age. 

Users who have a match that Garbo flags as having a history of violence are then encouraged to report the person to Tinder. 

Users will also be warned that just because someone lacks a history on Garbo does not mean the person is completely totally safe, and to still use caution when meeting up with new people. 

Garbo launched itself as a new kind of background check for the digital age. It was founded by Kathryn Kosmides, who herself is a survivor of gender-based violence, and is dedicated to helping women and preventing acts of violence. 

Garbo currently searches public records of arrests, convictions, and sex offenses across the United States. This is the first consumer partner for Garbo.  

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