While Bumble has just announced that it will use AI to detect fake accounts, Tinder has clearly taken a completely different direction. It wants users to talk to each other a little more normally and is therefore introducing a new bot. One that warns when you are about to say something inappropriate. That also uses machine learning.
Inappropriate messages on Tinder
It almost seems like an April Fool’s joke, if it weren’t for the fact that it is apparently really necessary. There was previously a bot on Tinder that tackled aggressive or transgressive language, namely by sending the sender a message saying ‘hey, are you sure?’ and after receiving it, give the recipient additional options to report it. Now it goes a step further, because even if you plan to say something inappropriate, Tinder will reprimand you.
The key question here is of course: what is inappropriate? After all, many flirty things that people say are often borderline. Isn’t flirting just being a little inappropriate here and there? In any case, Tinder talks about three categories: authenticity, respect and inclusivity. It would also mainly concern people between 18 and 25, who could often use some extra help because they are less experienced with online dating.
Yet it also has something to do with what Bumble is now doing with AI: it wants to combat imitating someone else and faking someone else. This also includes deliberately harassing people. You will receive a warning if you behave in this way and will be given the opportunity to adjust your behavior. However, that warning will remain in your inbox forever: you cannot delete it.
Tinder as a helicopter parent
Now no one else sees your inbox except you, so it’s not that bad, but it is an extra kind of warning: every time you go to your inbox, you see that you have made a mistake. At least, if given the chance: if people exhibit this type of behavior more often and receive warnings, their profile will be deleted. Tinder does not provide examples of what is or is not acceptable, so people will automatically notice this from the warning they receive.
It is a far-reaching option from Tinder, but it is not yet a Chinese practice where a warning icon appears on your public profile. However, there will certainly be users who are not interested in it and may even find it a bit pedantic. People often do not think positively about someone who reads your conversations, even if it is a bot. And certainly not if this could result in reprisals. At the same time, the reality is that things are apparently getting out of hand to such an extent that these types of implementations are necessary. It is not without reason that it recently introduced the option to long press on a negative message and report it, plus an incognito mode.
Tinder figures
Tinder is still the most used dating app in the world and has been downloaded more than 530 million times. It is not surprising that it is now offering help, especially for 18 to 25 year olds: online dating is indeed somewhat newer for that group, in addition to the fact that half of the users belong to that age category. Tinder does not make any statements about how many users it has in the Netherlands. There are estimates that 2 million Dutch people have, or have recently had, a Tinder account.
