Imagine being able to check out your Tinder date’s criminal background.
The dating app wants to help people reveal red flags about potential dates through quick and affordable criminal background checks.
According to a report by CNN, Tinder users will see a background check tool starting this week integrated into the popular dating app’s Safety Center.
The new option is part of a partnership between Tinder’s parent company, Match Group, and Garbo, a nonprofit background check provider focused on gender-based violence awareness and prevention.
Garbo, which calls itself a new kind of background check for the digital age, was founded by Kathryn Kosmides, who is a survivor of gender-based violence. Garbo currently searches public records of arrests, convictions, and sex offender registries across counties in the United States where accessible.
To conduct a search, Garbo asks for information that one might readily have about a possible online dating connection as one nears a real-life date, such as a first and last name and a phone number. More information, such as age, date of birth, zodiac sign (which users can opt to share on Tinder and would help narrow down one’s birth month), and zip code, will help surface more accurate results.
Unlike other background check providers, Garbo doesn’t provide identifying information like someone’s address history in search results.
The goal is to arm online daters with information that can make them feel safer about their dating choices, but the service could also raise new concerns about how people will use it and what they may take away from it.
Tinder said it will give users two free background checks on Garbo to start. For non-Tinder users, or for any subsequent searches, people can purchase one, three, or five credits from Garbo for $2.50 apiece plus a processing fee. The site also gives the option to pay more to donate free searches to people in need.
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