The popular dating app Bumble brought back its Stand for Safety initiative in India for the second edition. Bumble conducted a nationwide study about how online harassment is affecting people around the country. According to the study, 1 in 2 people, 50 per cent, have encountered hateful content online, and at least 1 in every 4 women have seen negative comments on their physical appearance and bullying against women online. More than 52 per cent of the people surveyed said they have felt angry after being bullied and encountering hateful content online, which has made it hard for them to trust other people.
We are delighted to partner with the Centre for Social Research and Nyaaya to create a one-of-a-kind safety handbook to support our community and equip them with crucial information to combat online abuse, discrimination and harassment. From day one, Bumble was built on the core values of kindness, respect, equality, inclusivity and equality, and safety. Mahima Kaul, head of Public Policy APAC at Bumble, said our Stand for Safety initiative shows our deeper commitment to creating a world where all relationships are healthy and equitable.
When we work together, equality, equity, and inclusive online spaces can become a reality. We are happy to have partnered with Bumble in India in an effort to make the Internet a safer and kinder place for women and other marginalised communities. The creation of Bumble's Safety Handbook is a key step in the right direction, and the purpose is to give agency to the users, and to empower them with the tools to fortify their well-being while navigating the online space, said Jyoti Vadehra, Head, Media and Communications at Centre for Social Research.
Bumble said that it is going to keep working on updating the handbook and platform guidelines and adding more stop words in multiple regional Indian languages. The dating app has some inbuilt safety features like a Safety Wellbeing Centre, the ability to use her initials to create the dating profile, a Private Detector that automatically detects and blurs unolicited nude images, and it also bans all unsolicited and derogatory comments on any user's appearance encouraging users to report such behaviour on the app.