Share Match Details With Loved Ones With Tinder’s New Feature
- Written by Shipra Sanganeria Cybersecurity & Tech Writer
- Fact-Checked by
Tinder is introducing a new feature that will now allow users to share their date plans directly with family and friends through a time-sensitive link.
Tinder’s announcement on April 22 regarding the “Share My Date” feature aligns with the company’s commitment to fostering a “fun” and “safe” dating experience.
The feature lets users share links that include details of upcoming date plans such as date, location, time, and match’s name and photo. Links can be sent up to 30 days in advance with updates to the info allowed at any time up to the date.
Any recipient, including non-Tinder users can view these links. Tinder users can view the match’s complete profile but are unable to interact with it, while non-users will have a limited view of the profile including the match’s photos, name, and age.
The time-bound link is to discourage recipients from sharing other’s date details on social media, Tinder’s spokesperson said in a statement to TechCrunch .
According to Tinder, the feature was developed after an internal user study showed that 51% of singles under 30 already share their date details with friends, while 18% share the information with their mothers.
The “Share My Date” feature will be rolled out across the US, UK, Canada, and a dozen other countries in the coming months.
The new feature comes at a time of heightened concerns surrounding potential risks associated with dating apps — scams to harassment and assault. Although the feature is aimed at enhancing the excitement of sharing dating experiences with friends and family, it can also help singles feel safer.
According to a 2023 Pew Research Center study , around 49% of Americans have reservations regarding the safety of dating apps. A majority of the respondents (60%) surveyed, particularly women (64%), support mandatory background checks before any user can create a profile.
Since 2019, Tinder has been experimenting with new safety features to combat catfishing, including the 2020 introduction of photo verification , followed by video verification (video selfies) of 2023 .
In February 2024, Tinder added an extra step known as the blue verification checkmark feature . To receive a blue checkmark, a user is required to upload a video selfie along with a photo of their driver’s license or passport. With the introduction of new safety features, Tinder aims to help its users feel more safe and confident when engaging with potential matches on its platform.
WhatsApp Rolls Out Passkeys Support for iOS
- Written by Shipra Sanganeria Cybersecurity & Tech Writer
- Fact-Checked by
WhatsApp is now bringing passwordless logins to iOS devices, with Meta announcing support for passkeys in the latest iOS version of the app. The feature, which will soon be available to all iOS users, removes the need for traditional SMS-based authentication methods.
Once enabled, the feature will allow iOS users to authenticate their WhatsApp account using iPhone biometrics such as Face ID or Touch ID. Moreover, users will have the option to use the PIN stored on Apple’s passkey manager to access Meta’s encrypted messaging app service.
The passkey support for iOS comes six months after Meta announced similar feature support for Android users in October 2023.
Emphasizing the benefits of passkey authentication, Alice Newton-Rex, WhatsApp’s head of product, said, “Passkey verification will make logging back into WhatsApp easier and more secure. We’re excited to launch this in WhatsApp and give users an added layer of security.”
To see if passkey verification is already available , iOS users can navigate to their WhatsApp “Settings,’’ click the “Account” option, and select “Passkeys” as the verification method.
Yet, users will still need their smartphone app whenever they wish to sign into WhatsApp on alternative devices “since Mac, Windows, and web can’t be primary devices for an account,” said WhatsApp spokesperson Zade Alsawah in a statement to The Verge .
Passkeys has gained prominence as an alternate and more secure login method, as it mitigates the risk associated with phishing or other remote credential stuffing attacks. By doing away with the traditional password and SM-based authentication option, a user can quickly log into any desired website or app without being connected to a network.
Since 2023, various internet-based companies, including Google , TikTok , and X (formerly Twitter), have implemented support for passkeys across different operating systems.
