Users must ensure their own safety: Tinder
Tinder says it is up to users to ensure their own safety following the alleged gang rape of a New Zealand woman in Sydney.
The 28-year-old businesswoman met up with a man the mobile dating app had matched her with at a restaurant in Kings Cross on Saturday night before continuing to an inner-city bar, where they were joined by the man's friends.
Police suspect she may have been drugged at the bar, as she later began feeling numb, dizzy and didn't know where she was.
She was later sexually assaulted by at least three men at a property in the Botany area in the city's south, police say.
"As you would expect the victim is struggling," Detective Inspector Michael Haddow said.
"It's a very emotional time for her. A very difficult incident, the whole matter."
Tinder said it was saddened by the case but it was the user's responsibility to gauge whether meeting up with matches was safe.
"We strongly advise our users to practice discretion when making the decision to meet outside of the app," it said in a statement.
"Like most social platforms, Tinder does not perform criminal background checks on its users."
The alleged sexual assault of the 28-year-old is the second high-profile case involving Tinder this year.
Last month a 26-year-old New Zealand tourist, Warriena Wright, fell to her death from a Gold Coast apartment balcony hours after meeting a man she matched with on the app.
Gable Tostee, a 28-year-old carpet layer, has been charged with Ms Wright's murder.
Law student Penny Edwards, who uses Tinder, said the Sydney attack was a bit of a wake-up call.
"I've met with a few people and luckily I've never had a bad experience but I guess this is a reminder that internet dating sites can be really risky," Ms Edwards, 21, said.
"And just because you've spoken to somebody online doesn't mean you actually know them."
Police echoed calls for online daters to be cautious when meeting strangers for the first time.
"Whilst most people are using these apps for legitimate reasons ... the persona a person represents online on a mobile dating app may be somewhat different to their real life persona," Insp Haddow said.
"The message is not to not use sites like this, but ... to do so with a degree of caution."
