Tinder Adds Panic Button For Scary Dates

Been on any Tinder dates lately? It's been a minute for me, but I know how it can be intimidating and maybe a little scary meeting up with someone for the first time who you met online. There's the common things I do for first dates: meet them somewhere public, drive or uber yourself so you aren't alone in a car with them and they don't know where you live, let a friend know where you're going and who you're going on the date with, those are the basics. But now, Tinder is taking it up a notch.

If you find dating to be a scary proposition, you're not alone. Last week, Tinder announced that it will be adding a panic button to its app, allowing users to signal for help when a date starts to feel dangerous.

“You should run a dating business as if you are a mom. I think a lot about safety, especially on our platforms, and what we can do to curtail bad behavior," says Mandy Ginsberg, CEO of Tinder's parent company. “There are a lot of things we tell users to do. But if we can provide tools on top of that, we should do that as well.”

The Wall Street Journal notes that the free feature will let users "receive check-ins to make sure they feel safe and even summon authorities to their location." It's expected to officially debut in the U.S., and here in Boise, in just days at the end of January.

My Tinder is currently deactivated, but all I've been looking for is one singular sign to put myself back on there. Maybe this is it.