Tinder is updating its community guidelines to keep the dating app safe and respectful, the company announced today. As part of the updates, Tinder will automatically remove social handles from bios and discourage users from having private conversations with their matches on other platforms.
Tinder says its platform is not a place where users should seek followers on their social channels, which is why handles will be removed from public bios and profiles. While you can no longer display your social handles, you can still share your Instagram profiles with matches through Tinder’s Instagram integration.
The platform has never allowed users to promote their business on Tinder, but is now introducing stricter policies that make it clear that Tinder is for making personal connections, not business connections.
“Tinder is not a place to promote businesses to make money,” the company wrote in a press release. “Members are not allowed to advertise, promote or share social media or links to gain followers, sell things, fundraise or campaign. To combat this, Tinder will remove social handles from public bios.”
As for the updates on sharing private Tinder chats on other platforms, the company states that users should never post private chats they’ve had with matches unless they’ve been given permission to do so. The updated policy comes as Tinder chats often go viral on platforms like Twitter or TikTok as people like to share their funny, weird or wholesome interactions with others through the dating app. However, Tinder believes that “conversations on Tinder are just that: conversations on Tinder.”
In addition, Tinder makes it clear that an account should be for one person and that users in poly and open relationships should create separate accounts for each partner. This means that a couple cannot use one account to find a potential partner. Tinder also notes that users should use the recently released Relationship Types profile feature to indicate whether they’re looking for ethical non-monogamy, open relationships, or polyamory.
The updated guidelines state that users should never create fake personas or impersonate someone else, or file false reports against others. Tinder also reminds users to respect others’ boundaries and notes that users should not overshare on the platform. The company encourages users to take advantage of its in-app features to be clear about their goals and relationship types.
“The majority of Tinder members are between the ages of 18 and 25, and Tinder is often their first dating experience,” said Ehren Schlue, SVP of Member Strategy at Tinder, in a press release. “To guide these younger daters as they begin their dating journey, Tinder is using this policy refresh to remind and educate members about healthy dating habits — both online and in real life.”
The updated Community Guidelines come as Tinder recently rolled out an AI-powered update to its Photo Verification feature that allows users to prove to others that they’re not a bot or catfisher. In the past, users would take pictures of themselves to get verified on the dating app and receive a blue check mark. Now Tinder is amplifying this process by requiring a video selfie instead of photos. Soon users will also be able to limit their chats to only those members who also have photo verification.