Transgender people keep getting banned from Tinder
Transgender people on hook-up app Tinder are reportedly getting banned because of their gender identity.
A number of trans people have taken to the internet to complain that they have been banned from the app after reports from other users – when their matches realised they are transgender.
Business Insider picked up on the claims, reporting that one Twitter user wrote: “nothing like getting banned from tinder because dudes are reporting you for being transgender. #tinder”
The app relies on community reports – meaning that if enough people report a profile, it is likely to be banned before being reviewed.
The bans state: “You’ve been reported by users too many times” – locking users out of their accounts.
A Tumblr user added: “I added that I’m trans on tinder and my account got suspended apparently multiple people reported my profile”.
The company told Business Insider that it welcomes “everyone”, and takes action to unban accounts that are wrongly reported by users.
A spokesperson said: “Everyone is welcome on Tinder. Each banned account is individually assessed.
“If we find that a user has been wrongfully banned, then we unban their account.
“This includes instances when transgender users are reported by others, but haven’t violated any of our community standards.”
Tinder added that it was working on filters that will allow people to specify more gender identities than ‘male’ and ‘female’ – which may eventually help stop people being matched up with trans people who don’t want to be.
The spokesperson added: “The system currently does not permit users to be more specific than ‘male’ or ‘female’ when selecting gender and is similarly limited in discovery preferences.
“Unfortunately, this can lead to some users reporting other users when they unexpectedly appear in their recommendations.
“Tinder recognizes and believes in the importance of being inclusive of all gender identities and is working towards optimizing the experience for everyone. “
