DALLAS (WBTW) — Online dating platform, Tinder, will soon let people do background checks on their dates — and in most cases, no last name will be required, according to a press release from Match Group, the platform’s parent company.
The company made a “significant” contribution to Garbo, which provides historical information about violence and abuse, the company said. Garbo is a non-profit background check platform founded by women.
Garbo collects public records and reports of violence and abuse, including arrests, convictions, restraining orders, harassment, and other violent crimes and makes them available at a low cost. The company didn’t say if there will be a cost to users or if it will be worked into the subscription price.
Drug arrests and traffic violations are not collected. Garbo cites the disproportionate effect on marginalized groups for not including this information.
Garbo says no last names are required for the background checks in most cases. Users can access them with just a first name and a phone number.
“Before Garbo, abusers were able to hide behind expensive, hard-to-find public records and reports of their violence; now that’s much harder,” Garbo CEO and Founder Kathryn Kosmides said. “Being able to reach historically underserved populations is fundamental to Garbo’s mission and the partnership with Match will help us connect these communities.”
Garbo’s platform will be made available on Tinder in the United States later this year, but no specific timeline was given.
