How to use Tinder and live to tell the tale

“These are all the features we have in the app globally. Some have already arrived in Spain and others are on the way”, explained Vicente Balbastre Tio, Tinder’s communications and marketing director, this Tuesday at The Standard hotel.

Tinder is taking part in the My Safe Space workshop, organised together with Fundación Aspacia, an organisation that works to combat sexual violence, and Alas, an Ibiza association specialising in sexual health and wellbeing.

Balbastre is responsible for explaining all these tools, which, according to him, make the app “one of the safest on the market”, although many users are unaware of them.

Some safety features

“One of the first features to bear in mind is blue tick verification”, Balbastre lists. “It can be done with either an image or a video, and it is important because if someone sees that blue tick, it already provides an extra level of safety compared with someone who does not have it”.

He explains that making it compulsory for everyone who uses the app could lead to discrimination. “For example, you cannot impose this verification on LGTBI people in certain countries, because they are persecuted there”.

Another option is to block contacts from your phone. “Imagine you do not want your profile to appear to someone, such as your landlord”, he says, prompting laughter from the whole room.

Then there is incognito mode and the option to block profiles. “You can either block that contact so they do not appear, or block them directly when you see them, like when your landlord has changed phone number”, Balbastre jokes. With incognito mode, users can swipe right and will only be shown to profiles they have previously approved.

The app also includes a safety centre. “Here you can access all the information on safety, from the most basic things to those you might not think of, and it is worth reading”, Balbastre says. “Reporting a profile if they have insulted you, so that no one else has to deal with that person...”.

“Another feature is that when you try to insult someone, a warning appears asking, ‘Are you sure you want to send that?’ Just adding that question prevents many of these situations”, the senior Tinder representative explains. “The other person also sees a message saying, ‘Does this message make you uncomfortable?’, which makes it easier for the person receiving the insult to report the profile”.

Sharing date details

“Another thing you can do is that, when you confirm a date with someone, you can send the details of the date and the other person’s profile to a friend or family member”, Balbastre explains. “And the other person knows that you have shared it, so you are more protected and it helps prevent uncomfortable situations”.

“One thing that is very popular with Generation Z is double dates: within your Tinder profile, you can suggest a double date with another friend, so you go as a group”, he adds, before going on to explain several other features that can be used.