A Background Check Will Now Be Available to Tinder Users

The world of dating is hard, especially when you’re meeting complete strangers online or on an app.

Dating app Tinder is now making it a little bit easier by allowing users to soon be able to access a background check database.

Match Group, the parent company of OK Cupid, Hinge, Tinder and Match, has announced a new partnership recently that will help its users stay safe.

The company has made an investment in Garbo, a non-profit, female-founded background check platform which will be available to people using Match Group apps, starting with Tinder later this year.

Kathryn Kosmides, a “survivor of gender-based violence” found Garbo and wanted to make it easier to find information about people you may connect with online including details like “arrests, convictions, restraining orders, harassment, and other violent crimes.”

According to the company’s press release, Garbo aims to help proactively prevent gender-based violence by providing people with more transparency and information about whomever they connect with.

The press release went on to say that Garbo provides low-cost background checks by collecting public records and reports of violence or abuse, including arrests, convictions, restraining orders, harassment, and other violent crimes. This valuable information, which is typically offered by for-profit companies, has historically been difficult to access and cost prohibitive. As a non-profit, Garbo democratizes access to information, allowing people to make more informed safety decisions.

“For far too long women and marginalized groups in all corners of the world have faced many barriers to resources and safety,” stated Tracey Breeden, Head of Safety and Social Advocacy for Match Group.

“We recognize corporations can play a key role in helping remove those barriers with technology and true collaboration rooted in action. In partnership with Match Group, Garbo’s thoughtful and groundbreaking consumer background check will enable and empower users with information, helping create equitable pathways to safer connections and online communities across tech.”

“Before Garbo, abusers were able to hide behind expensive, hard-to-find public records and reports of their violence; now that’s much harder,” said Kathryn Kosmides, Founder and CEO of Garbo. “Being able to reach historically underserved populations is fundamental to Garbo’s mission and the partnership with Match will help us connect with these communities.”

“Garbo is a tool to address the inequities and barriers to access that people have traditionally had with background checks,” said Natalie Ludaway, MGAC Member. “Match Group’s partnership with Garbo is a real, meaningful step towards giving people access to information that can help make a real difference in their safety decisions.”

Disclaimer: We have no position in any of the companies mentioned and have not been compensated for this article.