Tinder rolls out new transgender identity options

Tinder has revealed that it will now let its users manually describe which gender they associate themselves with.

Kicking off for users in the U.S., U.K., and Canada, the feature allows users of the perennially popular dating app to identify themselves not only as “man” or “woman,” but as “transgender,” “trans woman,” or any identifier they prefer.

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In the profile section of the app, hit “I Am” and then select “More” to type in words that describe how you identify yourself, and to have this identifier show up in searches made by other users.

“We haven’t had the right tools to serve our diverse community in the past, but that changes today,” the company said in a statement. “In addition to this new feature, we are learning to be a better ally to transgender and gender non-conforming communities by allocating additional resources to our support team, which includes educating our staff about the challenges facing these communities.”

Today’s news doesn’t come as a complete surprise, as Tinder CEO Sean Rad revealed plans to be more inclusive toward transgender users earlier this year. It also brings the platform in line with Match.com and OKCupid, which are also owned by Tinder’s parent company IAC, while social networks such as Facebook have been catering to their transgender user base for a while.

Tinder said that it has been working with its “transgender and gender non-conforming users and consultants,” which include Nick Adams and Alex Schmider from GLAAD’s Transgender Media Program, as well as filmmaker and trans advocate Andrea James.