Tinder has vowed to improve the experience of its transgender users after coming under fire for not doing enough to protect them from transphobic abuse.
The company will work alongside advocacy group GLAAD to make the dating app more trans-friendly, although it has not said what new features can be expected.
At present, users are only able to choose male or female as their gender identity. It is now expected that Tinder will begin rolling out a "more flexible system" with which people can identify themselves and specify who they're looking to connect with, Engadget reports.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"There's a transgender community on Tinder and we haven't done enough to give them a good experience," chief executive Sean Rad told the Recode Code Conference in California.
"We want every single person on Tinder to get a quality match. We want to let people be who they are."
Tinder was widely criticised last year after trans users said they were being reported and banned by other members for being transgender. Although the bans were lifted by administrators, the members continued to be harassed.
"Often the comments are filled with trans-misogyny and homophobia," Sol Solomon, a trans woman, told Business Insider. "I got two messages the other day from some person saying, 'Well, you're very misleading.'"
Trans individuals face a "disproportionate amount of violence" compared to their cisgender counterparts on dating sites, says the Huffington Post's Caitlynne Leary.
"This can easily be alleviated with proper education and awareness. Educate yourself and make these spaces more inclusive and safe for trans individuals."
-
The launch of the world’s first weight-loss pillSpeed Read Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly have been racing to release the first GLP-1 pill
-
Maduro’s capture: two hours that shook the worldTalking Point Evoking memories of the US assault on Panama in 1989, the manoeuvre is being described as the fastest regime change in history
-
Six sensational hotels to discover in 2026The Week Recommends From a rainforest lodge to a fashionable address in Manhattan – here are six hotels that travel journalists recommend for this year
-
Iran cuts internet as protests escalateSpeed Reada Government buildings across the country have been set on fire
-
US nabs ‘shadow’ tanker claimed by RussiaSpeed Read The ship was one of two vessels seized by the US military
-
How Bulgaria’s government fell amid mass protestsThe Explainer The country’s prime minister resigned as part of the fallout
-
Femicide: Italy’s newest crimeThe Explainer Landmark law to criminalise murder of a woman as an ‘act of hatred’ or ‘subjugation’ but critics say Italy is still deeply patriarchal
-
Brazil’s Bolsonaro behind bars after appeals run outSpeed Read He will serve 27 years in prison
-
Americans traveling abroad face renewed criticism in the Trump eraThe Explainer Some of Trump’s behavior has Americans being questioned
-
Nigeria confused by Trump invasion threatSpeed Read Trump has claimed the country is persecuting Christians
-
Sanae Takaichi: Japan’s Iron Lady set to be the country’s first woman prime ministerIn the Spotlight Takaichi is a member of Japan’s conservative, nationalist Liberal Democratic Party
