Joining Tinder has two requirements: owning a smartphone and having the will to get on the platform. While the app is relatively harmless for adults, it can be unsafe for teens — it allows 13 to 17 year-olds to use it — and a source of worry for parents.
Now, phone-monitoring web program TeenSafe has a new update that lets parents monitor their children’s Tinder activity. The program, which informs parents of what their kids are up to online, will tell parents if their kid is on Tinder, what is said on their profile, their matches and conversations, and who they have liked, super liked and skipped.
If the conversation transitions from the app to texting, parents will have access to those conversations as well. Since TeenSafe allows access to text messages, Kik, WhatsApp messages, web history and phone logs, parents have complete access to all conversations, including deleted messages.
Currently, 13 to 17 year-olds make up seven percent of Tinder users, and the app ensures that this age group can only match with users in the same group. That said, there is no way for Tinder to guarantee that an underage user is not lying about their age, or vice versa.
"Parents today are raising the first generation of digital natives," co-founder Scott Walker told Mashable. "Younger and younger kids are getting these devices and don't know the power these devices have. They get themselves into situations that they often need help with."
