Los Angeles (TAN): Tinder has introduced a new alert feature that will warn LGBTQ users while visiting countries and regions that criminalise homosexuality. Tinder, headquartered in the United States, is a location-based social search mobile application mostly used as a dating site.
According to the company, nearly 70 countries across the globe discriminates against the LGBTQ community, leaving them vulnerable to hostility. When the Tinder app is opened in one of these locations, the new ‘Traveler Alert’ feature will display a warning about the country’s laws and automatically hide the dating profile of a member self-identified as LGBTQ in the app.
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“Based on your geographical location, it appears you’re in a place where the LGBTQ community may be penalized. We want you to have fun, but your safety is our #1 priority. Please proceed with caution and take extra care when making new matches and meeting with people you do not know,” the alert reads.
Tinder will provide its users an option to make their profile public or keep the information hidden while in that location. So once the alert is activated, and a user who has added sexual orientation or gender identity to their profile opts to be shown on the app, the information will not be available on the public domain until they leave the region.
The company said it believes ‘everyone has the right to live how they want to live and love who they want to love’ which is why they want to ensure its LGBTQ users are ‘aware of the potential dangers’ they might find themselves in for ‘simply being themselves’.
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The Traveler Alert, which will be available on both iOS and Android platforms, will appear when users are either present in these countries or using Tinder’s Passport feature to connect with people anywhere in the world.
Tinder collaborated with the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association to decide on regions the Traveler Alert will appear.
