Tinder is trying a new feature which aims to give more protection to women in India, where research indicates females are more at risk of being abused than anywhere else in the world.
The ‘My Move’ feature will allow women to opt in for a setting whereby they’ll be the only ones able to start a conversation when there is a match.
The feature will be rolled out worldwide if it proves to be successful.
India is said to be Tinder’s largest market in Asia, and also the “chattiest” globally as it has the largest amount of people using the in-app messaging service.
But the option for extra protection on the partner-matching web app is particularly fitting in a country branded, in June, the most dangerous in the world for women by a Thomson Reuters Foundation survey.
The poll’s figures show how the world’s fastest growing economy still has a long way to go in terms of implementing measures to keep women safe. There is a high risk of sexual violence and of being dragged into slave labor.
Taru Kapoor, a general manager for India’s branch of Match Group, which owns Tinder, told Reuters the feature was being tried in a bid to get more women to use the app.
“Our users have the autonomy, especially women have the autonomy, on how to be engaged, to be empowered, to control their experience,” Kapoor said.
There has previously been reports of female Tinder users being assaulted by their dates.
A woman from the Hyderabad region in July claimed her date had threatened, molested and attempted to rape her. The alleged assault took place three years ago in Indiranagar, in India’s south west, according to Asian News.
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