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Tech nonprofit Garbo announced<\/a> today it\u2019s ending its formal partnership with Match Group, the dating app giant behind Tinder, Plenty of Fish, Match and other apps. The two companies first teamed up in 2021, when Match made a seven-figure investment<\/a> in the background check provider, following a series of reports about harm that came to dating app users through Match-owned apps.<\/p>\n In particular, a damning investigative report\u00a0by ProPublica and Columbia Journalism Investigations<\/a> published in December 2019 promoted the company to begin to better focus on user safety, which also included a 2020 investment\u00a0in Noonlight<\/a> to help it power new safety features inside Tinder and other dating apps.<\/p>\n In March 2022, Tinder rolled out access to background checks<\/a> powered by Garbo through the app\u2019s in-app safety center. The experience directed users to the Garbo website<\/a> where they were able to fill in basic information about their match. The company said users typically only needed their match\u2019s first name and a phone number to get started.<\/p>\n Garbo\u2019s unique quality, compared with other background check companies, is that it only focused on public records that contained reports of violence and abuse, including arrests, convictions, restraining orders, harassment, and other violent crimes. It didn\u2019t return any non-violent charges, like drug possession and general traffic tickets, excluding DUIs and vehicle manslaughter.<\/p>\n After Tinder, Garbo rolled out to other Match dating apps<\/a> in July, including Match and the single-parent dating app Stir.<\/p>\n Despite its usefulness, there was some criticism<\/a> that Match was passing the buck by offloading critical safety checks to a third-party partner which wasn\u2019t deeply integrated into its apps, thus requiring daters to do more work. Others were skeptical <\/a>about whether background checks were even helpful in terms of predicting the potential for abuse, as many abuse and domestic violence cases aren\u2019t reported.<\/p>\n Today, Garbo says it\u2019s winding down its consumer background check service and also ending its relationship with Match. However, it will continue to honor credits users purchased for a period of time. This includes users who claimed Garbo credits through partnerships with online platforms, including Roomi, HUD, and Match Group apps (Tinder, Plenty of Fish, Stir and Match.com). These new and existing credits will be honored through August 31, 2023, Garbo says.<\/p>\n For users who purchased credits directly from Garbo, credits are redeemable through August 31, 2023, or can be refunded through October 31, 2023.<\/p>\n Garbo says the decision to wind down background checks will allow it to focus on \u201cnew technology and tools that directly empower individuals to protect themselves in the digital age.\u201d Specifically, the\u00a0company says it will instead work on a new guidebook to help people protect themselves online across every platform.<\/p>\n There are hints of sour grapes in Garbo\u2019s announcement, as it suggests that the Garbo app was meant to be an easier and more effective and affordable way to uncover histories of harm and violence, but \u201ca lack of commitment from online platforms and the growing problems with public records has compromised the ability of users to harness the full power and potential of Garbo\u2019s technology.\u201d<\/p>\n Garbo\u2019s decision to pivot its business follows leadership changes at Match which saw Match Group CEO Shar Dubey stepping down in May 2022,<\/a> with Bernard Kim taking over just as Garbo was meant to start rolling out to the company\u2019s dating apps, which may have complicated matters.<\/p>\n