Many of us will have been in this situation before: you take a screenshot of a juicy conversation you’re having with someone you’re dating to send to your friends, ready to dissect the meaning word by word. Just as you hit send, a wave of anxiety flows through your body and you suddenly realise you sent it to the very person you screenshotted. PANIC STATIONS, people! More than just an embarrassing slip, screenshotting a private conversation actually has deeper repercussions that we often don’t consider. At Badoo, we want to shine a light on these, and explain what we’re doing to protect our community from them.
We’ve introduced a new safety feature, Screenshot Block, which is designed to provide you comfort in the knowledge that your messages are truly private. What happens in Vegas, should stay in Vegas, after all. Screenshot Block isn’t there to stop the Badoo community from having fun, but to protect our app users from negative behaviours like having their privacy invaded, or their images and conversations shared without consent.
- On Android, our savvy software will stop anyone from being able to screenshot in our in-app chat or save images and recordings.
- iOS users will see a warning message to encourage them to reconsider their actions.
- Don’t worry though – the feature doesn’t impact how you can report inappropriate behaviour on Badoo.
Everyone on Badoo has signed the Honesty Pledge, and along with identity verification, Private Detector, and our ban on body shaming, Screenshot Block encourages our community to stay safe and be respectful towards others.
Why is it not OK to take screenshots?
Screenshotting has become a habitual part of our digital lives. It comes as naturally to us as double-tapping an Instagram or using our thumb to scroll through our Twitter feeds. We screenshot things for inspiration: a killer outfit, a motivational quote, a delicious-looking recipe – and there’s nothing wrong with that. But when we screenshot or record a private conversation, things get a little bit more murky and problematic.
Most of us wouldn’t think twice about screenshotting a dating app conversation with a match. We do it to ask our friends for help in constructing an interesting response and keep the momentum going, or to vet the person if we’re not sure how we feel. There’s usually no malice intended, of course, but when we really stop to think about it: is screenshotting a private conversation actually OK?
It’s a breach of privacy
Imagine if we became aware that our conversations with the people we’re dating were posted in a group chat - how would it make us feel? Probably a bit exposed, and not that great, right? Plus, if we’re honest with ourselves, how often do we actually take our friends’ advice when it’s given? We tend to just go with our gut feeling, most of the time. When we’re actually on a physical date, our friends (hopefully) aren’t sitting at the table next to us providing a running commentary of the conversation and rating our date’s responses; we can keep it flowing on our own. So is screenshotting a private chat really even necessary?
Being honest is brave, and respect is key
At Badoo, we want you to be able to make genuine, honest connections. The best conversations are the ones that go a little deeper than “what did you have for dinner?”, and so often involve someone opening up about their personal experiences, thoughts, and feelings. It’s not cool to share those intimate chats with other people when you really think about it. It also goes without saying that sharing someone’s saucy pictures or messages is an absolute no-go. Many celebrities have also opened up about how debilitating having intimate images shared without consent is, and sharing any personal images, videos and conversations is something which Badoo stands firmly against.
The bottom line is: we should all be able to chat to our matches freely, in an unfiltered and honest way, and that’s where Screenshot Block comes in. Better connections are made when we’re brave enough to be our true selves, after all.
