Online dating site Tinder has rolled out a new "Health Safety" section on their website after a California advocacy group launched an ad campaign last fall, which associates the app with sexually transmitted diseases. The new tab encourage users to practice safe sex as well as to help users "find your nearest STD clinic" locator.
The recent update was a result of a feud between Tinder and Los Angeles-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF). Last fall, the latter launched an ad campaign linking the dating app with sexually transmitted diseases.
It started putting up around New York and Los Angeles billboards and adverts showing two pairs of man and woman in silhouette: in the first pair, the man labelled "Tinder" faces a woman labelled "Chlamydia" and the second shows a man with "Grindr" (a gay dating app) facing another male labelled "Gonorrhea." According to NBC News, Tinder responded to countered the act with a cease-and-desist letter.
Despite Tinder's threat to sue for legal actions, the advocacy group said they would only consider taking down the signs if the app adds a "Health Section" on its website. Now that the update is up and running, AHF welcomed the implementation and agreed to stop the campaign. However, AHF claimed that it will continue its campaign on other dating sites.
According to Whitney Engeran-Cordova, senior director of AHF, CDC's statistics reveal drastic increase of sexually transmitted cases in 2014. It further stated that the infections mostly affected young people, especially those who are actively engaged online.
"This is why it is such welcome news that Tinder will add a Health Safety section with a link to Healthvana, making it easier for people to find testing locations through an easily accessible, modern platform. And we hope to see other dating sites do the same," he added.
On the other hand, Tinder refused to comment on the cease-and-desist letter, but stated that CDC did not specifically linked Tinder usage with the upsurge of sexually transmitted disease cases.
However, the firm is in favor with the organization's aim to provide the public with health education resources.
