Tinder is adding a new security feature to the app, so online daters can let friends and family know where they are.
The “Share My Date” feature allows users to share the location, time, and a photo of their match.
In the UK, more than one in ten online adults use dating apps, according to Ofcom, Tinder is the most popular, with almost 2.5 million adults using it in the UK.
Although a large number of people now date online, there are still security swiping right concerns, ranging from scams to hunt down and even sexual assault.
Nearly a quarter of internet users are victims of digital harassment, according to research by cybersecurity firm Kapersky, with 10% admitting their location has been tracked and a further 10% saying their social media accounts or emails have been tracked. -emails have been hacked.
As the police are given new powers to combat harassment, Sky’s Tamara Cohen spoke to a woman who was stalked for eight years by someone she never met.
“There were missed phone calls and text messages,” she said. “Then I started noticing things like criminal damage to my car and property. I lived in fear every day. This person was infiltrating my life and my network.”
The number of young people being sexually assaulted after meeting dates online has increased in recent years, suggests the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA).
Among incidents asked to be investigated involving women aged 19 and under, the proportion of reports of sexual assault after an online date increased by more than 80% in six years (83% ), according to the agency in 2022.
The proportion of such incidents involving men has increased by almost a quarter (24%).
Overall, the number of sexual assaults the NCA has been asked to investigate has remained “fairly stable”.
“Everyone dating online needs to be aware of the potential dangers, so they can be better prepared and make the choices that are right for them,” the NCA’s Louise Vesely-Shore said at the time.
“Date Ready Checklist”
Letting friends and family know who you’re meeting and where can make your dates safer and sharing details of your plans “should be part of your ‘dating checklist,'” Paul said Brunson, global relationships expert at Tinder.
Many people are already sharing their date details with friends and family. According to Tinder, more than half of those under 30 tell their friends where they will be and when, and one in five tell their mothers.
Tinder wants to integrate this functionality with the pleasure of meeting someone new.
“Discussing your plans with friends and family is an age-old dating ritual,” said Melissa Hobley, Tinder’s chief marketing officer.
“Share My Date streamlines this sharing of basic information so singles can get straight to the exciting part.”
Share My Date will roll out to the UK, US, Australia and elsewhere in the coming months.