Dating app Tinder matched a quarter million (250,000) trans users since their latest trans inclusive update of last November. The number was given by Tinder co-founder Sean Rad during a panel at SXSW (South by South West) conference on Friday March, 10 of 2017.
The update adds 37 new gender choices – including transgender woman, transgender man, agender and genderqueer – and seeks to better protect the app’s trans users, as well as to educate the user base about gender identity. The update “displays gender identity clearly and avoids harassment later on” says Rad. “Tinder is about everyone, everyone’s welcome and everyone deserves to meet someone special,” he adds.
Tinder sought help from GLAAD in order to work on a providing a better experience for their transgender members. GLAAD helped train Tinder employees about gender identity and how to deal with it. We have a great algorithm that can help, but no algorithm can solve humans,” Rad explained. “We were taken aback by how complex identity is. It’s a very complex area and, at the same time, Tinder is extremely simple.”
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