Tinder users can now run in-app background checks on their matches

San Francisco: Dating app Tinder has announced that its users in the US can now run background checks in-app to screen their matches for possible violent or harmful past behaviour.
The company said that Garbo’s new online background check platform will be made available to the general public in the US and will also be launched to Tinder members via Tinder’s Safety Center.

According to The Verge, the searches will return results that Garbo said are “relevant to the user’s safety” and will exclude some information such as drug possession and loitering.
The searches also won’t include personally identifiable information like addresses and phone numbers.

As per Tinder, each user will have access to two free background check searches; after that, they will pay $2.50 plus a small processing fee per transaction that will directly fund Garbo’s operations and other fees associated with the searches.

Users can perform background checks by pressing on the blue shield in the app, then going to the Safety Center, where they will select the Garbo article, which will then direct them to Garbo’s website.
At first, users will only need to put in a match’s first name and phone number, but if it doesn’t yield results, users can put in more information, such as their match’s age.

The company also noted that a lack of history on a Garbo background check does not guarantee that a user is safe and urged users to follow its safety tips for meetings with new people.
Match Group also announced Wednesday that it is partnering with the National Domestic Violence Hotline to give users the ability to live chat with trained advocates.

The feature is designed for users who are “seeking more information about healthy relationships and relationship abuse”, according to the company.