Tinder gets US match background check feature this year

Tinder parent company Match Group has announced a partnership with Garbo. This allows American Tinder users to have a background check of their matches later this year, for example to check whether they have been convicted of violence.

Match Group owns dating apps Tinder, OK Cupid, Match, and Hinge, among others. With the investment, Match Group’s apps will gain access to Garbo’s services in the future. “Match Group will make Garbo’s platform accessible to its users in the US by integrating it on Tinder later this year.” It is unknown what amount is involved in the investment.

Garbo is a non-profit organization founded in 2018 by Kathryn Kosmides, “a survivor of gender-based violence,” Match Group writes. Kosmides says it wants to make it easier to find information about people with whom users have contact online. For example, the service allows users to check their potential dates for arrests or convictions for violent crimes. The platform collects “public records and reports of violence or abuse, including arrests, convictions, restraining orders, harassment, and other violent crimes.”

According to Garbo, background checks can often be conducted using only a person’s first name and phone number. In the future, users will also be able to manually submit police reports or other documents to the service, although this is not currently possible. Arrests related to drug possession and traffic violations are not shown in the results of Garbo investigations.

It is not yet known when the Garbo integration will be added to Tinder. Match Group says it will start “testing and expanding Garbo on Tinder” in the coming months. Other Match Group US services will receive integration at a later date. It is also unknown how exactly the feature will work. The Verge writes that background checks on Tinder won’t be free, but that Match Group and Garbo are working together to “figure out how to price them so that they are accessible to the most users.”