Frighteningly, crimes related to online dating are on the rise. While apps such as Tinder or Happn have put in some measures to combat the issue, there is no way of really knowing if the person you are talking to is safe.
Until now that is. New mobile swiping app, Gatsby is set to tackle the problem head on - the dating service offers a background check on anyone new who signs up.
Using publicly available databases, they check for criminal records and sex offender registries. To ensure no-one who may pose a threat ends up on the app, they run monthly checks on current users too.
Inspired by the character Gatsby in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, the founder, Joe Penora told Cosmopolitan that the app has an air of exclusivity much like the parties in the book. 'We utilize big data to verify that none of our users have a checkered past, something Daisy and the rest should have done.'he explained.
Hopefully other apps will follow suit, and the mobile dating space will become safer for all.
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