‘Are You Sure?’ Feature To Expand Across Match Group
Match Group has announced that its ‘Are You Sure?’ feature, which prompts users to reconsider sending messages with harmful language, will expand to more of its platforms. The anti-harassment tool will become available on Match, Stir, OurTime, BLK, Chispa, and Upward by the end of the year. The feature will then be adopted by Hinge in 2024.
The ‘Are You Sure?’ feature automatically detects when a user drafts a message that contains potentially harmful language. It then intervenes to warn the sender that they may cause offence, and prompts them to reconsider the message’s content.
Tinder, Plenty of Fish, and Meetic have all adopted the tool already, but it is set to expand to these other Match Group platforms, reaching millions more users. More than 500 million messages have been edited or deleted by users after the feature has intervened, Match Group shared.
Beyond just prompting these changes to messages, Match Group shared that the tool is also creating a shift in user behaviour.
For example, Plenty of Fish saw an 84% decrease in ‘Are You Sure?’ alerts over time, “indicating the tool is effectively guiding users to learn from the intervention prompts and change their behaviour”, Match Group explained.
“We know certain words and emojis can be seen as harassment, but we also recognize that there are users who may not realise how messages can be perceived by others. This tool has been a powerful way to help educate and encourage users to not send messages that could be potentially harmful to others”, said Rory Kozoll, Senior Vice President of Central Platform and Technologies for Match Group.
“Intervention and prevention help provide meaningful changes in behaviour, while also giving users a way to put their best foot forward when first getting to know someone”, Kozoll added.
“In a male-dominating society, our collective socialisation too often teaches us not to respect women or value boundaries,” said Ted Bunch, Chief Development Officer of A Call to Men, a non-profit promoting healthy respectful masculinity.
“‘Are You Sure?’ seeks to prevent inappropriate or unwanted communication and promote the reflection of one’s behaviours and learned habits. We are proud to partner with Match Group on this responsible, forward-thinking initiative and believe it will help promote healthier interactions and relationships”, Bunch shared.
As part of this expansion, Match Group is set to launch a “Respect Before Swiping” campaign over the coming weeks. This initiative will look to share additional educational resources with users to encourage respectful online behaviour.
