Background Checks in Dating Apps

Tinder is introducing a tool to allow users to run background checks before meeting up with someone  from the app.  Tinder has received criticism in the past because connections that people have made on the app have led to crimes including sexual assaults.

To help prevent crimes such as sexual assaults, Tinder will allow users an extra level of screening of their potential dates.  Tinder users will be able to perform background checks so that they have a better understanding of any risk that may come with their date.

To effectuate their background check plan, Tinder invested in Garbo Technology Corp., a nonprofit background check organization.  Users will need to provide information about themselves and provide details about their date, such as name and phone number.  The background check will provide details about convictions for some violent crimes as well as the screen person’s status on the sex offender registry.  Recognizing that it is tough to provide an assessment about someone with limited information, the background checks will also indicate the confidence interval in the results.  This will allow reviewers of the reports to put the appropriate level of faith in the report.

Certain circumstances may lead to low confidence in results, such as having a common name, or having a re-used phone number.  As phone area codes are determined by location, some area codes are more likely to see phone number turnover than others.  The Federal Communications Commission only requires phone numbers to go unused for 45 days before being cleared for reuse.  This could lead to an increase in “low confidence” outputs for people from economically depressed areas.

Another factor that could lead to “low confidence” is having a common name.  John Smith’s results are more likely to be reported on in background checks as being of “low confidence.”

This is just a byproduct of how background checks are performed and there is nothing inappropriate about it.  It may make some potential dates more appealing to risk-takers, but less appealing to the risk-averse.

The background check reports that Garbo provides Tinder users do utilize privacy by design.  As mentioned previously, they report on the issues that would be of primary significance for potential dates, any history of sexual assaults or some violent crimes.  They don’t function as a way for a potential date to learn all their partner’s secrets.  The reports don’t mention certain drug offenses or petty crimes.  They also exclude financial crimes older than 7 years and homicides or robberies more than 14 years old.  The background checks are meant to provide the viewer of the report with the relevant information they should know if they are going to meet with their date in person, not a synopsis of all of the bad things they’ve ever done.

Tinder is turning heads with the responsibility of its approach, taking into account safety and privacy.  Your organization, too, can stand out by promoting privacy.  Clarip helps companies take their privacy compliance to the next level.  We provide data privacy compliance solutions for GDPR, CCPA, LGPD, and other laws as they emerge.  We offer fully automated data subject request fulfillment, automated data mapping, data risk intelligence scans, vendor management, consent management, and much more.  Call us at 1-888-252-5653 or visit our website at www.clarip.com to learn more.

Email Now:

Mike Mango, VP of Sales
mmango@clarip.com

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