AUSTRALIA – June 7, 2021 — Whether it’s a former flame, a cousin, or a colleague, just about everyone has a personal connection they’d rather not run into when dipping their toe in the dating pool. In fact, a recent survey commissioned by Tinder found that more than 40% of respondents have come across an ex partner on a dating app. Another 24% have seen a family member or colleague, and one in ten have even encountered their professor’s profile. Awkward. Given the chance, 78% of those surveyed would prefer to not see, or be seen by, these connections on an app. With this in mind, Tinder is rolling out a new feature that allows members to block personal contacts in the app, empowering them to confidently Like their way to sparking new connections while avoiding the awkwardness of a familiar face they would rather not see. 

“We may not be able to save you from awkward run-ins at the coffee shop, but we are giving you more control over your experience on Tinder,” said Bernadette Morgan, Group Product Manager, Trust & Safety at Tinder. “We’re rolling out Block Contacts as an additional resource empowering members with peace of mind by helping create a worry-free space for them to spark new connections.”

Members everywhere will be able to access Block Contacts within their profile settings. From there, they can input which of their contacts they’d rather not see, or not be seen by, on Tinder. Whether those contacts are already on Tinder or decide to download it later using the same contact info, they won’t appear as a potential match. Initially tested in India, Korea and Japan, members who adopted the Block Contacts feature on Tinder added about a dozen contacts to their block list.