For the most part, dating apps are fun and perfectly safe and lead to great dates, happy relationships and marriage, but a new report has shown that the number of crimes linked to Tinder and Grindr has increased sevenfold in the UK in the past two years.
The figures show that in 2013, there were just 55 reported crimes citing Tinder or Grindr in England and Wales. This increased to 204 in 2014 and 412 by October 2015.
The most common crimes reported were of violence and sex offences, including rape, grooming and sexual exploitation of children.
It’s a significant rise and only accounts for crimes that have been reported. The number of unreported incidents could make that number much higher.
Blind dates are nothing new
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Going on dates with strangers is nothing new though, think back to singles ads in newspapers, which still exist. The only difference is now we have dating opportunities in abundance thanks to apps like Tinder, Grindr, Bumble, HowAboutWe, Happn and more.
These apps and websites are designed to make dating and meeting new people easier by letting you get to know the person first. This also allows you to make a somewhat informed judgement about whether this is a genuine person looking for love or friendship, a potential scam, or something more worrying.
The dangers
And while these apps do what they can to limit the amount of criminal activity on the platforms, it’s next to impossible to judge if someone you’re connecting with is potentially dangerous, which is pretty damn scary when you think about it.
It’s the ease of access to other people on apps like Tinder that actually make them more dangerous and open to criminal activity. Sure, Tinder connects to your Facebook, but there is nothing to stop me from setting up a fake profile with fake images and connecting that to a Tinder account.
There is currently a trial ongoing in the UK, where a man is accused of drugging and murdering four men he met on Grindr between June 2014 and September 2015.
Police in the UK are now urging users of apps like Grindr and Tinder to be vigilant and report any instances of crime, as well as encouraging anyone who may feel embarrassed by something that’s happened to come forward and seek support.
➤ Crimes linked to Tinder and Grindr increase seven fold [The Telegraph]
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