One of the world’s largest dating app developers is slowly expanding users’ ability to do background checks against potential partners.
Match Group announced Tuesday that it was expanding its partnership with Garbo, a nonprofit background check platform that offers access to public records, to two of its dating apps. The company had previously provided access to Garbo through Tinder but is now adding it to two additional apps: the company’s original app, Match.com, and the single-parent dating app Stir.
“For far too long, women and traditionally marginalized groups have faced many barriers to resources and safety,” said Tracey Breeden, the head of safety and social advocacy at Match Group, in the initial announcement. “Garbo’s thoughtful and innovative consumer background checks will drive the industry forward while empowering people with critical information to help inform personal safety choices.”
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Garbo will offer users access to public record information, including arrests, convictions, and sex offender registrations.
While Tinder users had a multistep process to access the background request feature, the new update to the two apps will automate the process. If a user wants to meet up with someone, a box in the dating app’s interface will ask about running a background check on the person. Agreeing to do so will send the user to Garbo’s website. Users must enter relevant information, including the person’s first and last name, phone number, birthday, and so on. While Match Group’s apps do not provide this information directly to Garbo, users can file the background check if they can acquire those details directly from their partner or other sources.
Free users will get two free background checks, while premium subscribers will get four. Any additional checks will cost the user $2.50 each, plus a $0.75 processing fee.
While the app introduced Garbo to Tinder users in March 2022, the company did not elaborate on how much the function was used in the pilot program. “We learned that we can be doing more in-app to surface Garbo, and additionally, better showcase all of the safety tools we have available to Match members,” a spokesperson told CNBC.
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This new function arose after lawmakers scrutinized the dating platforms for allowing sex offenders to use them. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) launched an investigation in Jan. 2020 into whether dating platforms allowed underage users to access them. Eleven House Energy and Commerce Committee members filed a letter in Feb. 2020 calling for Match Group to check users against sex offender registries and elaborate on its efforts to respond to sexual assault reports. Match Group invested in Garbo in March 2021.
