Tinder is trying to make itself more accessible to transgender users.
The dating app, which is owned by Match Group (MTCH), is adding gender options and more dating preferences in the next month or two. The only options users currently have are male or female.
“For a long time we haven’t done enough to give them a good experience,” said Tinder CEO Sean Rad at the Code Conference in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif. “It’s harder for them to get what they are looking for. We have to modify our experience to address that.”
“One challenge we face at Tinder is making sure our tens of millions of users around the world have the same user experience. No matter who you are, no matter what you’re looking for, you should get quality matches through the Tinder experience,” the company said in a statement emailed to Coins2Day. “There’s an important transgender (and gender nonconforming) community on Tinder who haven’t had that experience … yet.”
Tinder said that it’s working with LGBTQ advisors, including transgender activist Andrea James and GLAAD, as part of its commitment. “Not only is it the right thing to do for our users, it’s the right thing to do, period,” according to the company.
Recently, Target announced that it would allow transgender customers and employees to use the bathroom they identify with—a departure from North Carolina’s HB2 or “bathroom bill.” The company’s decision prompted some customers to boycott stores, although Target’s CEO Brian Cornell told Coins2Day that business has not been hurt.
