According to a report published in The Wall Street Journal, Tinder would be developing a «panic button» to avoid awkward and dangerous situations on a date with a stranger. Since it’s one of the most used apps to meet people, the safety of its users must be guaranteed. The company would be working with Noonlight, an application connected to the main local emergency services, to be able to access this function on Tinder.
Through this button, Tinder would notify the relevant authorities about the location of the user in distress. Mandy Ginsberg, CEO of Match Group, to which Tinder belongs, commented “you should run a dating company like you were a mother. I think a lot about safety, especially on the platforms we work with, and everything we can do to control bad behaviors. There are many warnings and recommendations that we provide to our users, but if we can also give them good tools, even better». The first version of the button is expected to be available for the United States between the last week of January and the first week of February. There will be also an option to entre the place and time of the date so that there is a record and the application is alert before it happens.
We should remember that this app has been heavily criticized for its inaction to report malicious users or provide assistance to sexual assault victims. For this reason, the company has decided to invest in the physical security of people who use this app while respecting the privacy of users. Other sites that have also received complaints about security issues and that have raised measures in recent months are Uber Technologies Inc. and Airbnb Inc.