Twitter's former head of trust and safety, Yoel Roth, announced today that he will be joining Match Group, the parent company of several popular dating apps including Tinder and Hinge. Yoel, who shared the move on LinkedIn, is currently the company's vice president of trust and safety.
“As they say…personal news! 'I swiped right on Match Groups!'” Ross said in an announcement post. “Fifteen years ago, I began researching what is now called “trust and security.” Because the world of new dating apps at the time was like the Wild West. It feels like a dream come true to be able to roll up my sleeves and help protect the millions of people around the world who are connected through our apps. ”
Ross worked at Twitter Inc. (now Company X) for seven and a half years, but left after just two weeks under Elon Musk's leadership. Mr. Ross had faced dangerous and homophobic harassment after Mr. Musk attacked him with unfounded accusations in an attempt to damage his reputation. Ross also faced harassment after the release of the Twitter Files, a series of internal documents showing how he and other executives at Twitter handled content moderation. Ross had to flee his home as the threats escalated.
Mr. Ross now brings his trust and safety expertise to Match's family of dating apps, including Tinder, Match.com, Meetic, OkCupid, Hinge, Plenty of Fish, OurTime and more. Dating apps have built-in features to keep users safe, but these apps still have a lot of harmful practices, and not everyone trusts them. Online dating is a safe way to meet new people, as the number of adults who think online dating is generally safe has decreased from 53% to 48% since 2019, according to a Pew Research survey. It turns out that Americans are divided on whether or not.
Ross, who wrote his doctoral thesis on the safety and privacy of dating apps, told Wired in an interview that his new role at Match Group was a “dream job” and that he jumped at the company's offer. Ross said he will be responsible for developing policies and standards across the company's apps.
Last year, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reported that victims of romance scams suffered $1.3 billion in losses in 2022, with the median reported loss being $4,400. Ross plans to tackle this issue, saying he wants to build protections against things like fraud and financial fraud. Match claims to remove 44 spam accounts every minute across its apps, but Roth understands the problem and has implemented elements that allow for cross-platform actions to further engage users. He says he wants to protect it.
Additionally, Ross said that while Match Group is working to identify underage users, he believes app stores should also play a role in protecting users, a position echoed by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. He said there is.