The dating app Bumble will ban users if they are deemed to be “body-shaming” others in their profile details or in conversation with potential partners, according to The Guardian.
It comes amid growing concern about abuse on dating apps. One in four, 23% of people in Britain have been body-shamed online on a dating app or social media, according to a Bumble survey of 1,003 people.
Additionally, 54% of people said they are less likely to feel good after spending an extended amount of time on the internet. Surveys have shown that body shaming makes people feel self-conscious (35%), insecure (33%) and angry (25%).
Bumble, an app which allows women to choose who they want to talk to, will use an algorithm to flag terms that are deemed derogatory in terms of mocking an aspect of someone’s physical appearance. This will include language that is fatphobic, racist, or homophobic.
Moderators will then look through the accounts that have been flagged to determine whether any further action, such as that user being banned, needs to take place.People who use language that falls into this category in their profile or through the app’s chat function will first receive a warning for their inappropriate behaviour.
Naomi Walkland, Bumble’s head of UK and Ireland said they wanted to create “a kinder, more respectful and more equal space on the internet. Key to this has always been our zero-tolerance policy for racist and hate-driven speech, abusive behaviour and harassment.”
In a 2016 Consumers’ Research survey of dating app users, more than half of women reported experiencing harassment, compared with 20% of men. In a 2017 Pew survey, 21% of women aged 18 to 29 reported being sexually harassed online, compared with 9% of men in the same age group.
Walkland said she felt that this change would make it clear “body shaming was not acceptable on Bumble”.
Image source: ABC News
