Online dating can be dangerous: for example, if you come across users who are on the move with false identities and photos, or if meetings take place differently than one of the two people had imagined. The Match Group, which runs well-known dating apps like Tinder and OkCupid, has now announcedto expand their services with new functions that should help in such situations.
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Among other things, the company is entering into a partnership with the Noonlight app in which the Match Group acquired shares of an unknown amount. It should enable smartphone users to get help inconspicuously in uncomfortable situations: in the simplest case, without dialing numbers or entering text, only by holding and releasing a button on the mobile phone display, The user’s location is transferred. Noonlight employees can then send the police or other emergency services off or inquire about the well-being of the user.
Initially, only the US version of Tinder will be interlocked with Noonlight will receive a corresponding update next Tuesday, From then on, users can get information about meetings with other users directly from Tinder deposit with Noonlight, The idea behind it: If something should happen during the date and Noonlight’s emergency call function should be activated, Noonlight knows who the user had agreed with at what time.
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Meanwhile, Tinder wants to take action against fake profiles with a new photo verification, which also starts on Tuesday in the USA. Users are asked to take selfies that look like their profile photos. A software should then – supported by people – compare whether it really is the same person. From now on, a blue check mark next to the user name should indicate that someone has successfully completed the photo check.
The function is currently being tested “in selected markets”, Tinder writes, without explicitly naming other countries than the USA. In the course of the year it will also be available in other markets.
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The “Safety Center” also comes to Germany
A third new feature will “soon” also be available for German users: Tinder will have a new “Safety Center”, an area within the app that is designed to keep users up to date on the subject of security when dating. For example, a quiz is offered to prevent users from giving private information to chat partners too quickly.
Tinder recently announced another feature called “Does This Bother You?” on: The company wants to use machine learning to identify potentially unpleasant messages. The recipient should then have the option of simply communicating with such messages that he or she perceives them as “bothering”, ie as “annoying” or “disturbing”. If this is the case, he or she can report the sender to Tinder.
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Available in 190 countries
Tinder is one of the most popular dating services worldwide, the app is now available in 190 countries. According to the Match Group, it has already been downloaded 340 million times.
The Match Group had been criticized several times because women had come into contact with registered sex offenders through their apps. Most recently had at the end of 2019 among others “Buzzfeed” and “ProPublica” alerted to the problem. The now announced app adjustments should therefore also be an attempt by the company to protect its services from further negative headlines.
In addition to Tinder, other Match Group dating services such as Match, PlentyOfFish and OkCupid, which are offered in the USA, are also to receive a Noonlight integration, but only in the coming months. Facebook dating, potentially one of the biggest competitors for the Match Group offers, has already integrated a similar function: With the service, which will soon also be launched in Germany, users can share information about their dates or live location data with a person they trust.
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