New dating app weeds out criminals, sex offenders

WPVI logo
Tuesday, May 23, 2017
New dating app weeds out criminals, sex offenders
New dating app weeds out criminals, sex offenders. Sharrie Williams reports during Action News at 4:30 p.m. on May 23, 2017.

A new dating app is available for anyone scared they might be inviting a criminal into their lives.

It's called Gatsby and like most conventional apps, users swipe left to pass on a person and swipe right to match.

But that's where the similarities end. When new users sign up for Gatsby, they're put through a criminal background check, which includes sex offender registries.

If anything comes up, including petty crimes like trespassing, the potential dater is rejected.

Gatsby also re-scans existing users every month and bans anyone convicted of a crime after their initial screening.

The people behind the app say the "safe dating movement" is all about taking the fear out of meeting someone online.

But critics argue a zero-tolerance approach is too extreme.

----------

Send a breaking news alert
Report a correction or typo
Learn more about the 6abc apps

Copyright © 2024 WPVI-TV. All Rights Reserved.