Bumble launches new safety initiative to report harmful individuals

When Sophie met Sebastian* online, “he seemed like the dream package”. But slowly, his charming veneer started to crack.

“At first, he seemed like the dream package,” recalls writer Sophie Fennelly of Sebastian*, a man she met online in 2019. “He was good-looking, successful, and he even knew the difference between ‘you’re’ and ‘your’, a rare gem in the digital dating world.”

Slowly though, Sebastian’s charming veneer started to crack.

“He began with subtle digs at my appearance, like ‘joking’ comments about my weight, or the way I dressed,” Ms Fennelly, who also runs sales insights company Sales TQ continues, “and of course, it soon progressed into more explicit and derogatory remarks.”

Writer Sophie Fennelly. Picture: Supplied

“One time, he said, ‘you look like you’ve been working out, but you could still lose a few pounds’. Another time: ‘your new haircut makes your face look less round, it’s cute’.”

Soon, in the face of rejection, Sebastian began sending unsolicited lewd images, and even threats, she explains.

“There was one message that still sends chills down my spine. He wrote, ‘I bet you’re sitting there, all alone in your little apartment. I wonder what you’d do if I showed up at your door?’ It was the kind of message that makes you check the locks twice before going to bed.”

‘There was one message that still sends chills down my spine.’ Picture: iStock

Ms Fennelly’s experience, according to research from the Australian Institute of Crimonology (AIC), is all too common.

In data released late last year, it found three in every four survey respondents had been subjected to sexual violence facilitated via dating apps in the last five years. Sexual harassment was the most common form of behaviour reported, as well as abusive and threatening language, and unsolicited sexual images.

Today, dating app Bumble has announced an extension of its partnership with secure information-sharing portal Kodex to remove potentially harmful individuals from the platform and give users a safer experience online.

“Our mission at Bumble is to create opportunities for members to find healthy, safe, real relationships, and this partnership is really a reflection of what we’re trying to do,” Bumble’s Associate Director of Safety Partnerships, Kenya Fairley, told news.com.au.

Kodex, founded by ex-FBI counterintelligence agent Matt Donahue, is the secure platform currently employed by Bumble to communicate with law enforcement agencies around the world.

From today, Bumble and Kodex will introduce a dedicated referral pathway to non-government organisations (NGOs) and charitable organisations who work directly with victim-survivors of physical violence, sexual violence or technology-facilitated abuse, including violent discrimination (such as anti-Semitism).

“I’m very excited to be able to partner with Bumble on this and expand the use of Kodex outside of the initial law enforcement engagement and to external security data sharing with anyone that you need to, in order to root out abuses on your platform,” Mr Donahue says.

“I started Kodex to prevent the real world harm that happens every day, not just on Bumble or on dating apps but across companies in all different industries, whether it’s FinTech or crypto or traditional finance, telecom or social messaging. Every day, those platforms are being abused in ways that the founders of those companies never intended or wanted.”

Dating app Bumble has announced an extension of its partnership with secure information-sharing portal Kodex. Picture: Mateusz Slodkowski/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

This pathway will operate as a tip line (secondary to the existing law enforcement line, so information will remain secure on each) for organisations to report harmful or dangerous individuals to Bumble’s dedicated Member Safety team. If these individuals are found to be attempting to use the app, they face receiving a warning from Bumble or even having their profiles permanently removed from the platform.

“It’s really important in our mission to ensure that our members can feel confident that they’re engaging in a safe community online, and that we have their backs when things might go wrong, and that we’re really listening to survivors when they report to us that there’s been harm that they’ve experienced,” Ms Fairley says.

“By working with these charity organisations who are working day in and day out with victims of violence, they can then take that burden of reporting off survivors, which helps reduce the emotional toll of reporting and helps reduce the retraumatisation that victim-survivors may experience. Basically, it gives it over to us so that advocates can make the referrals and dangerous individuals can be investigated.”

‘It’s really important in our mission to ensure that our members can feel confident that they’re engaging in a safe community online.’ Picture: iStock

Ms Fennelly, who did report the abuse she experienced at the time and was encouraged by the support she received from the dating platform, says that while her experience of harassment initially left her feeling vulnerable, she eventually reached out to friends and took proactive steps to further protect herself online.

“I’m definitely in favour of initiatives that aim to make the online dating environment safer and more supportive for women,” she says of Bumble’s Kodex partnership, adding that Bumble’s existing partnership with Bloom to offer free online trauma support and resources to members is another positive.

“In the wilds of the online dating world, it’s important to remember that you’re never really alone. There are channels to report such abuse, and a community that will support you. Don’t let the bad apples spoil the bunch – just report them and move on.

“After all, the online dating world is vast and varied, and for each nasty piece of work, there are plenty more kind and respectful individuals out there.”

*Name has been changed

Originally published as Bumble launches new safety initiative to report harmful individuals