Tinder is set to introduce a panic button and other safety features to the popular dating app.
CNN reports that Tinder is following the lead of car services such as Uber in adding safety components to mobile applications in the hope of making users feel more secure.
The panic button feature will be rolled out for US users of Tinder next Tuesday, January 28, although it is not clear when the service will be available to users in Ireland and the United Kingdom.
The new safety centre tools will be powered by the Noonlight platform, which is a separate application that will need to be downloaded by users so that they can input information about their whereabouts and date.
We’re excited to partner with @Match, empowering @Tinder users with discreet safety features to make that first-time encounter with someone new a little less scary💪 Read more from @TechCrunch: https://t.co/BWlEUoNAix
— Noonlight (@NoonlightSafety) January 23, 2020
If users feel uncomfortable on a date, they will be able to contact Noonlight dispatchers via the app. Dispatchers will then send a text to the user and if no response comes to the text message, a phonecall will follow. If the phonecall goes unanswered, law enforcement will be contacted.
“A safe and positive dating experience is crucial to our business,” Match Group chief executive Mandy Ginsberg told the BBC.
“We’ve found cutting-edge technology in Noonlight that can deliver real-time emergency services – which doesn’t exist on any other dating product.”
Tinder is also looking into introducing a photo verification feature in a bid to remove the practice of cat fishing, where people pretend to be other people on the dating app.
Match, the conglomerate that owns Tinder, will introduce the new safety features to its other US dating services later in 2020.
