FlickrIn a move which could cramp teenagers dating games everywhere, parents can now spy on all their Tinder activity. Awkward.
Teensafe – a popular phone-monitoring app for parents who want to check up on their kids – just released an update that includes the ability to monitor Tinder use.
It’s hoped that this can help start a dialogue between parent and child about online dating and being safe while using it. This is good.
GettyBut the update also lets parents look at their kid’s profile, which could be rather embarassing to say the least. Imagine the cringe levels when you’re trying to add in a catchy new bio with your parent looking over your shoulder. Not cool.
They would be able to see their profile, who they’ve matched with, liked, super liked and skipped and can even see what conversations their child has had with other users.
Essentially no part of their teenagers’ online dating exploits will go unwatched.
Despite Tinder being mostly known as a dating or hook-up app, it still allows users aged 13-17 to sign up and use it- that’s pretty fucked up when you think about it.
And this demographic makes up around 7% of the overall Tinder-sphere. With nothing stopping underage users from lying about their age and matching with older people, you can kind of understand the necessity of such an idea.
GettyThere’s no doubt that this move is a very positive step forward in protecting young people in the sometimes dodgy world of dating apps.
But parents also have to keep in mind that their kids do need some shred of privacy and have freedom to date and chat to people their interested in.
Maybe it’s also about time that parents just bloody chat to their kids face-to-face about this kind of shit too.
