On Safer Internet Day (and with Valentine’s Day fast approaching), Tinder is starting to roll out some new safety features and updates to some others. Users will now be able to take advantage of an incognito mode, which Tinder says is a “step up” from hiding your profile completely. Only folks that you Like will see you in their recommendations. That should give you more granular control over your visibility.
In addition, you can block profiles that pop up in your suggestions. So, that could mitigate some awkwardness if you spot an ex or someone else from your life, such as (shudder) a family member. This follows a feature that allows users to block others based on their phone number.
There’s another new safety feature called long press reporting. If you receive an offensive message or unwanted picture, you can tap and hold to swiftly report it. Tinder says that it hopes this will encourage more people to report bad behavior so it can take action against users who are breaking the rules.
Meanwhile, Tinder has made some changes to features called “Are You Sure” (which asks folks to reconsider before sending a message with potentially harmful language) and “Does This Bother You,” which encourages users to report inappropriate conversations. Tinder says the features will detect more language that it deems harmful or inappropriate, including hate speech as well as sexual harassment and exploitation. The company says that, since it added “Does This Bother You,” it has received 46 percent more reports of messages containing harmful language.
Along with these updates, Tinder is rolling out a series of Healthy Dating Guides in collaboration with No More, a campaign to end domestic violence and sexual assault. The guides are designed to help users spot red flags and protect themselves at every stage of the relationship. Starting on February 8th, Tinder will also start running a campaign called Green Flags, which is about highlighting safety features and the steps people can take to safely date online.
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