“Tinder is about everyone and everyone deserves to meet someone special”.
Well-known dating app Tinder has matched over a quarter of a million transgender people since their newest update.
Sean Rad, Tinder co-founder, revealed these statistics during a presentation at SXSW (South by South West) conference, alongside Sarah Kate Ellis, president of GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation).
Rad commented that “Tinder is about everyone and everyone deserves to meet someone special”.
The new update and #AllTypesAllSwipes campaign was released in November, 2016 and allows users to pick from 0 – 40 different gender options.
Transgender Woman, Transgender Man, Transmasculine, Two-Spirit, Neutrois, Non-Binary and Other are just some of the many options provided.
Following the update, Tinder has been working closely with GLAAD in an attempt to become more trans inclusive.
By having the new update, it “displays gender identity clearly and avoids harassment later on” says Rad. The update also aims to provide the user with the best possible match as a transgender person, as well as keep them safe while doing so. He goes on “We have a great algorithm that can help, but no algorithm can solve humans”.
GLAAD took it upon themselves to train employees from Tinder so that they could better understand the importance of gender identity and the role it plays for those dealing with it.
“We were taken aback by how complex identity is,” Rad said. “It’s a very complex area and, at the same time, Tinder is extremely simple…we sent an important message, not only to our community but our internal employees as well. It was very important we built a feature that works – and we are building a better product for transgender users.”
Rad recently revealed that the total number of Tinder users worldwide is easily in the high tens of millions.
Tinder will work continuously with GLAAD to not only educate all staff members about trans issues, but to keep in mind any initiatives that can be LGBT+ inclusive.
Rad says that “Tinder hopes to continue to educate, enlighten and inform users about trans issues”.
