Dating site Tinder launches feature for travellers - will warn LGBT people of destinations where they are in danger
The mobile dating app Tinder is one of the most popular apps of its kind, and although it is primarily aimed at the heterosexual population, it is also frequently used by LGBT people. With more than 10 million people across the world launching Tinder on their mobile phones at least once a day (Tinder works in 190 countries and 40 languages), it's clear that the app's reach is huge. And precisely because the dating app is also used by many LGBT people, company officials decided, after including a sexual orientation designation (which Tinder allows for in a relatively new way), to create a safety check system that will warn LGBT people of potential dangers when traveling abroad.
"When our team discussed the possibility of adding a sexual orientation designation to a user's profile, the conversation quickly shifted to how this information could put users at risk in certain areas," explained Elie Seidman, the company's CEO. Just as the travel season is in full swing, the Tinder team created an update to alert users - travelers and locals alike - of the current LGBT legislation in their area.
"The feature is designed to protect and inform members of the LGBTQ community from the inherent risk of using dating apps in nearly 70 countries that still apply discriminatory laws that criminalize LGBTQ status," Tinder said in a press release. And the fact is, given that in some countries - like Saudi Arabia and Iran - homosexuality is still punishable by death, this is definitely a useful measure. However, LGBT people can also encounter problems in more mainstream holiday destinations such as Morocco or Jamaica.
Thus, the so-called Traveler Alert will alert users that they are in a country where LGBT people are prosecuted by law, and offer to completely hide their profile on a dating site. At the moment the user decides to continue using his/her profile, the app will automatically hide at least information about his/her sexual orientation/gender identity.
At the same time, users will be offered the opportunity to find out more about the laws of the country in question through a link pointing to materials from the human rights organisation ILGA World. Tindel representatives have worked with the organization to identify problematic locations, and the organization has provided its aggregate data from reports on homophobia around the world. This has so far led to the identification of 69 countries where LGBT people are at risk of various forms of danger.
The Traveler Alert feature doesn't need to be specially installed, it starts automatically as soon as the app detects that the user is in another country. "Fundamentally, we believe that everyone should be able to love who they want to love. And we're proud to offer features that allow people to be safe," concludes Seidman.
