An investigation by ABC noted one case in which a woman in Australia had taken her own life after being matched with and subsequently raped by another Tinder user, Glenn Hartland. Hartland was found guilty on three counts of rape and one of sexual assault against several women he had met on Tinder.
A US-based study has also found that 57% of females who had used online dating apps and platforms like Tinder had received unsolicited explicit images. Match Group has previously rolled out several features to improve the safety of Tinder, including photo verification and a panic button that alerts emergency services of a user in distress.
However, these features are limited primarily to the US, while the app is available in more than 190 countries, including South Africa. It is unclear whether its background checking or other safety features will be available to South African users in future.
