Tinder draws ire over profile bans for 'Black Lives Matter' supporters

While some of the biggest brands in the world have stepped forward to show their support for the ‘Black Lives Matter’ (‘BLM’) movement, Tinder has been sending out some rather mixed signals. The movement has snowballed into protests across the world, and is demanding an end to police brutality, which caused the death of Black Minneapolis resident George Floyd. The first show of solidarity from the dating app came on May 31, when protests were beginning to gain momentum in different parts of the US.

The statement is on its social media channels, but not on the app's official press room. Tinder mentions that it would be donating to the movement to support activism, but does not mention the amount of money earmarked for this purpose, or specifically, which cause (the movement is constituted by multiple smaller causes) it is going to support.

Below the statement, irked users replied with complaints of their accounts being banned for showing solidarity with the movement on the app. One user claimed that she had added 'Black Lives Matter' to her bio, which resulted in a ban. Another claimed that their profile was banned because they had added a link to a charity raising money to support the movement.

BuzzFeed News reported that several people got the idea to use Tinder as a fundraising platform after Dakota Rouse, a 23-year-old woman in Chicago, posted a TikTok video of her modified Tinder profile, which urged users to donate to the movement, and to use the screenshot of the donation as a conversation starter. Rouse claims that she has raised around $300 from approximately 20 matches.

The report quotes many more such instances where women had used the app to network and raise funds for those causes. A Tinder spokesperson told BuzzFeed that the company supports the movement, and that it would stop banning people for using the app to fundraise for these causes.