Tinder Introduces Inclusive Gender Options in India

To mark the beginning of Transgender Awareness Week, Tinder is rolling out new gender options for users in India.

Only two options, man and woman, have previously been available in the country. However, Tinder is now making it possible for users to search and select the gender they most identify with.

Multiple options have been available in the US since 2016, but the dating app has been slow to add transgender updates in India, potentially due to the country’s conservative laws.

It took until September 2018 for gay sex to become legal in India, and right-wing groups openly opposed Facebook Dating, stating that it promoted negative aspects of Western culture.

In a blog post, a Tinder representative spoke honestly about how the app has struggled to serve its diverse community before, but insisted that it is working to be better.

They wrote: “We haven’t had the right tools to serve our diverse community in the past, but that changes today. In addition to this new feature, we are learning to be a better ally to transgender and gender non-conforming communities by allocating additional resources to our support team, which includes educating our staff about the challenges facing these communities.”

They also promised that no-one will ever be banned from the platform because of their gender, but if someone believes they have been wrongly blacklisted they can reach out to questions@gotinder.com to get their account restored.

Tinder recently began testing a new feature in India called ‘My Move’. Women can turn on a setting where they have to send the first message.

Rival Bumble is working on fully expanding into the Indian market, hosting a celebratory dinner last month to mark the app’s initial launch in the country.

Read more here.