In the Wild West of online dating, it can be difficult to know whether the person you’re talking to is real or not. Whether they’re lying about their identity, running a romance scam, or hiding a criminal history, people can easily create false personas on the Internet with no repercussions.
Enter Garbo: A non-profit background check platform available to the public for a low fee.
What Is Garbo?
In 2021, Tinder partnered with Garbo to allow their users to run background checks on their matches.
Garbo uses someone’s name and phone number to search public records, including arrests and convictions, and create a short profile that Tinder users can use to vet potential dates.
Garbo’s main focus is safety and harm reduction for online daters.
How Background Checks Keep You Safe
Before dating apps became the standard method for meeting new dates, online dating had a reputation for being dangerous. This is partly because people could not rely on their social networks to vouch for someone before meeting.
In 2023, while many people have embraced the anonymity of dating apps and used them to expand their social circles, concerns about safety remain.
Although Garbo is Tinder’s preferred option, Information – a reliable and low-cost background checks search – has been available on the Internet for years. Like Garbo, services like Information.com pull from public records, social media, and other sites to compile easy-to-read background checks. The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) imposes strict control over what this can and can’t be used for.
You can run an online background check to:
- Find old family and friends
- Investigate the people around your children
- Search for sex offenders
- Connect with old lovers
- Research new lovers
- Find out who called you
- Clean up your own information
Most websites charge a small fee for their services. However, you can also do a completely free background check by contacting the different agencies and offices in your state to request access to public records and court records.
The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) guarantees that all individual citizens within the United States have free access to documents controlled by public authorities. This includes the government, the state, and more.
What Appears on a Garbo Background Check?
Garbo provides information relating to arrests and convictions and can access sex offender registries. Currently, it does not contain any information relating to restraining orders or orders of protection.
Garbo provides a very specialized service for online dating app users and limits the information accordingly to respect everyone’s privacy. Because of this, it does not provide personal identifying information like address history or full birthdays, nor does it provide information about a person’s financial history or education.
Garbo’s mission is to empower users to make more informed dating options. A history of violence or sexual assault can be hidden from dating apps, but inquiring about someone’s criminal history makes for poor first date conversation. Therefore, its focus is on giving users relevant information and reducing the risk of harm overall.
Critics have focused on two major issues with Garbo’s background check services.
Issues of Discrimination
Background checks disproportionately affect members of marginalized communities. Because laws are not applied equally in the United States, ethnic minorities are more likely to have arrests and convictions in their record. Thus, they would be filtered out of the dating pool.
Inaccuracy of Information
Public records are slow to update and may contain incorrect or out-of-date information. Running a background check on yourself gives you the chance to see what appears on your report and correct any false information.
How Garbo Handles Criminal Records on Background Checks
In response to these criticisms, Garbo excludes non-violent, non-harmful offenses from its background check for users.
Garbo has also implemented a lookback period within the platform that removes offenses after a predetermined length of time has passed. Certain crimes are serious enough that Garbo will not remove them in order to protect the safety of Tinder users, while others are deleted after 7 or 14 years.
The lookback periods allow Garbo to strike a balance between holding perpetrators of abuse accountable and advocating for the chance to change bad behavior.
Why Run a Background Check on a Dating App?
One in three Americans use a dating app or website. Currently, there are no restrictions on who can or can’t create an account and start swiping. While that has benefits, there are real risks that come along with online dating.
Garbo background checks are part of a safety system that keeps app users safe and holds abusers accountable.
