Dating apps introduce new safety features in response to users reporting abuse

The findings have prompted apps including Tinder and Bumble to introduce new measures to promote safety while pursuing romance online.

New research from the Australian Institute of Criminology found one in three people had been subjected to in-person sexual violence, harassment and aggression perpetrated by someone they met on a mobile dating app or website in the past five years.

More than three million people use dating applications like Tinder and Hinge across Australia.

Judith Lumley Centre sexual violence researcher Dr Jess Ison told ACM that dating apps were just one tool used by perpetrators of violence.

"Gender based violence is an epidemic that predates dating apps," she said.

"There's this tendency towards thinking that something like dating apps is like making the situation worse. "But the reality is that family and sexual violence is perpetrated predominantly by men, and has been for a really long time."

Tinder recently introduced 'incognito mode' for paying members, which means your profile will only be shared with the people you've already liked.

Bumble implemented artificial intelligence in 2020 to blur explicit images that required consent to view.

WESNET CEO Karen Bentley told ACM that while these measures needed more development, conducting a conversation on a dating app did have some protection.

"One of the safest things you can do if you're using Tinder, is stay on the app," she said.

"Stay on the app and use it as a way to communicate, don't jump off it and get onto Snapchat or WhatsApp too soon. Because once you're off the app, none of those protections inside the app are there for you."

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While these measures place the onus on the user to avoid harm, advocates say this mirrors wider harm-reduction strategies that caution women to take responsibility for their safety.

"We have a culture where the onus is basically on the potential victims to guard against, or act in a particular way in order to avoid the abuse," Ms Bentley said.

"But I think that's the way of the world everywhere. It's kind of the equivalent of expecting women not to ever walk home alone at night to avoid the 'dangers'."

The eSafety Comissioner recommends taking the following precautions to stay safe on dating apps:

NSW Premier Dominic Perrotet has proposed banning people with criminal convictions from creating dating app profiles.

However, Ms Bentley said the policy assumed a widespread conviction rate of gendered violence perpetrators.

"There are a lot of people who have never been anywhere near the justice system, and they're not going to have a convicted record. So there will be some people who are really quite violent and very abusive who have never been convicted," she said.

"It may provide a false sense of security, maybe it is going to catch the convicted felons of really egregious abuse and violence but it's not going to capture those that have never been reported."

While the exact details of the policy are yet to be announced, NSW Police could disclose information like confirmed instances of physical and sexual assault, property damage, stalking, intimidation and breaches of AVOs. Similar policies are in place in the United States.

Correction: ACM has updated this article to reflect that Dannielle Finlay-Jones did not meet her alleged attacker on Tinder before her death.

Tinder confimed they didn't meet on the app.

"This is a senseless tragedy. We extend our deepest thoughts to Dannielle Finlay-Jones' family and loved ones.

"We can confirm that the victim and the alleged offender did not match on Tinder. We are working with local law enforcement to provide any information to them that will be helpful for their investigation.

"Tinder approaches all concerning reports relative to member safety with the utmost urgency and we take appropriate actions toward bad behaviour by removing and blocking accounts across our platform."