Skip to main content

Tinder app now lets you run a background check on your date

Tinder will now let users perform a background check on the person they intend to go on a date with, a safety measure that will keep “Tinder Swindlers” at bay and will also play a crucial role in preventing any other kind of physical or emotional trauma. The service is offered by Garbo, a non-profit that aims to make background checks more affordable and easy to access.

Thanks to a partnership with Tinder’s parent company Match Group, the dating app’s users will get two background check tickets for free. Each background check costs $2.50 on Garbo, excluding a small transaction fee. In the coming months, the background check feature will also be making its way to more Match Group-owned dating apps such as OkCupid, PlentyOfFish, Hinge, and Azar, among others.

Related Videos
The background check service offered by Garbo.

In order to access Garbo’s online background check service, Tinder users need to visit the Safety Center in the app by tapping on the blue shield. In the tools area of the Safety Center, users will see a Garbo article that will guide them to Garbo’s official website where they can access its background check service. The whole process is fairly easy and can be directly accessed from Garbo’s official website. Users just need to enter the phone number and the matched person’s name to access the database.

In case that data proves to be insufficient, users will be asked to furnish more details, such as their potential date’s age. Garbo says it sources the background check data from the criminal justice system that profiles bad actors with a history of violent and harmful offenses. The idea here is to help those in the online dating game stay safe from swindlers and abusers while also lowering the barrier for a user-friendly background check service.

Tinder is encouraging users to report dating profiles that have a problematic track record as per Garbo’s database. In addition to a background check tool, the Tinder app will also lead users to a direct 24/7 chat line with experts who can guide them if they spot any red flags and help them stay safe in their search for a romantic partner. The app’s Safety Center also offers users a dedicated Crisis Text Line, alongside more helpful resources, such as RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network), to assist users.

Editors' Recommendations

Tinder’s new panic button is a safety net during your sketchy date
Tinder

Swiping right is about to get safer. Tinder just introduced a ton of new safety features for its app to ensure its users are safe when meeting their matches in person and when messaging them online. 

Location sharing, a panic button, photo verification, machine-learning technology in direct messages, and a safety center will all soon be available on the app to provide Tinder members peace of mind as they navigate the digital dating scene. Tinder announced these updates in a blog post on Thursday, January 23. 

Read more
The Houzz app now lets you virtually tile your floor with augmented reality
houzz ar tile story vimr tiles edits for article add to cart

Houzz is pretty forward-thinking in its technology so it’s not a huge surprise that the company is adding new features to its augmented reality features in its mobile app. The latest addition is available for free as part of Houzz’s View in My Room 3D tool and enables homeowners and home buyers to visualize how their domicile might look covered in tile.

To use the Houzz feature, simply tap the View in My Room 3D button on a product page for a 3D-enabled tile product, which launches the feature on iPhone, iPad, or Android. Scanning the floor and pointing to the perimeters of the room populates the floor with tile in 3D -- not to mention estimating the cost for populating the place with tile from the aforementioned 3D-enabled tile project.

Read more
You can now listen to Google Podcasts on your desktop without the app
Marshall Mid A.N.C. headphones

If Google Podcasts is your favorite application for accessing all the talking heads that you love to listen to, you can now enjoy a basic version of it on your desktop via the web. A bare-bones version of the Google Podcasts app now functions in a standard web browser if a shared URL is tweaked slightly, suggesting Google may be planning to make Google Podcasts more accessible in the future.

Google Podcasts is an Android app that lets users search for, download, and stream just about any podcasts you can find online. It has subscriptions, the ability to tweak play speeds, synchronized listening across multiple devices, and recommendations. The web implementation of Google Podcast is much more basic, with only the standard player functions, including rewind and playback speed adjustments. As 9to5Google points out, though, this kind of streamlined experience is very reminiscent of the original Android app before its official launch, suggesting that this may be the start of an official Google Podcasts rollout on desktop.

Read more