A service that allows users to conduct user background checks in apps under Match Group, including Tinder, will be launched. The service will be able to identify the person to date by looking at arrest records or criminal records from name and phone number.
On March 15, 2021, Matchgroup announced a partnership with Garbo, a non-profit organization that collects public records of arrests, etc., and announced plans to introduce a background check platform Garbo handles into Matchgroup dating services. In addition to Tinder, Match Group operates a number of dating sites such as Match.com and Meetic, as well as dating and marriage matching sites, and is expected to start a background check service on Tinder first in the second half of 2021.
Since the Garbo background check platform has not yet been open to the public, the content and degree of background check services are unknown. The matchgroup described Garbo activities as collecting public records or reports of violence and abuse, including arrests, convictions, restraining orders, sexual harassment, and other violent crimes, and said it provides background check services at an affordable price for many users .
Garbo also collects a wide range of public records of violence and criminal activity. However, it will not disclose records related to possession of drugs. Garbo explained that the reason is that there is an unreasonably higher rate of arrests of black people than white people for drug-related charges, and that drug-related crimes are less related to gender-based violence. In addition to drug crimes, Garbo kept traffic violation data private.
Kathryn Kosmides, founder and CEO of Garbo, who also says she is a survivor of violence, announced the alliance and said the partnership with Matchgroup will help the company connect with the data services community.
Matchgroup also announced a partnership with rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, in 2020. In addition, Tracy Breeden, a former police officer and a woman who was also in charge of Uber safety management, has been appointed as safety officer, focusing on preventing sexual violence and strengthening safety measures in the company’s dating service. Regarding this announcement, it reported that dating apps could have been used by vicious criminals to lure victims by pretending to be dating partners. He pointed out that he has been prosecuted. The background check service has the potential to overthrow the anonymity required by dating apps, and Tinder has consistently emphasized the handling of personal information such as names from before. Matchgroups cannot share user data with Garbo, but Tinder users will be dating partners in the future. It is said that a background check will be possible. Related information can be found here.