INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Image copyrightGetty ImagesImage caption
Many trans people have deleted Tinder after being harassed on the app
Tinder is making changes to improve the treatment of transgender people on its app.Many have wrongly had their profiles removed from
the app because Tinder imposes an automatic ban if a profile receives lots of complaints
Tinder said many bans had resulted from "unfair" complaints made about trans people "simply for being who they are".Transgender women had
been particularly affected by the complaints and subsequent harassment, it said
And it would now give more feedback on why complaints had been made.Boss Elie Seidman said the unfair complaints had been an "unforeseen
consequence" of Tinder's policy that its users should not be able to filter out trans people from the profiles they are shown as potential
matches.Image caption
Complaints about Tinder's transgender policies populate its support page
Many of
the messages on Tinder's support channel on Twitter are to trans people who have complained they have been banned or censured because of
their gender identity.A trans woman called Avalon told TheIndianSubcontinent News she had been left "shocked and confused" after Tinder gave
only an automated message mentioning community guidelines as justification for her ban."I used Tinder as a way to see who's out there," she
said."As a trans woman, it can be dangerous to meet people in the real world because you never know how someone might react to my gender
"Dating apps like Tinder allow me to circumvent that issue and talk to guys on a safe platform."Another trans woman, Valeri, said she had
felt "incredibly let down and honestly insulted" when she had been banned despite not breaking any rules.She had used Tinder because it "was
a simple, safe place that normalised pronouns and various gender identities"
