Tinder has announced that it is making changes to improve the treatment of transgender people on its dating app and protect them from harassment.
According to Tinder, it is currently making improvements on its app in order to improve transgender treatment. Many have reported that their profiles have been wrongfully removed from the app because an automatic ban is imposed by the company if a profile receives lots of complaints.
Tinder explained that many of the bans have been the result of "unfair" complaints made against trans people "simply for being who they are". The complaints and subsequent harassment were particularly directed towards transgender women.
Tinder promises that it would now give more feedback on why complaints had been made. Elie Seidman, chief executive officer (CEO) of Tinder, explained that the unfair complaints had been an "unforeseen consequence" of the company's policy that its users should not be able to filter out trans people from the profiles they are shown as potential matches.
Looking at the app's support channel, many of the the messages on Twitter were directed to  trans people who have complained they have been banned or censured because of their gender identity.
A trans woman called Avalon narrated that she felt "shocked and confused" after Tinder gave only an automated message mentioning community guidelines after her account was banned. She said: "I used Tinder as a way to see who's out there. As a trans woman, it can be dangerous to meet people in the real world because you never know how someone might react to my gender identity."
"Dating apps like Tinder allow me to circumvent that issue and talk to guys on a safe platform," added Avalon.
Another trans woman named Valri said she felt "incredibly let down and honestly insulted" when she had been banned despite following all the rules.
