What Does the Blue Shield Do on Tinder?

The blue shield opens Tinder's safety tools. Tap it in a chat, or on the page of someone you are looking at, and it opens the Safety Toolkit, which Tinder describes as one-tap access to block, report and unmatch. Tinder also says the shield you see around the app takes you to its Safety Center, where it keeps its safety features, resources and guides.

The toolkit puts three actions in one place, so you do not have to hunt through menus when something feels off.

Unmatch ends the match. Tinder says it removes you from each other's match lists and deletes the conversation for both of you, and the other person is not notified. It is permanent.

Report sends the account to Tinder so it can look at what happened. This is the one that actually does something about a problem, rather than just removing it from your screen. Tinder notes that you can still report someone after you are no longer matched.

Block, where Tinder offers it, stops the two of you seeing each other on Tinder at all. Tinder says not every account has it.

The Safety Center is the other place the shield takes you. Tinder describes it as the home for its safety features, resources and guides.

It is available in select locations, so you may not see it everywhere. Tinder says you can also reach it by tapping your profile icon and then Safety.

It is worth a few minutes of reading before your first dates from the app, the same way it is worth knowing where the fire exit is. You will probably never need it. The one time you do, you will be glad you already know where it is.

Most chats never need the shield. A woman who is slow to reply, or who answers with one word, is not a safety problem. She is just a quiet chat.

The shield is for the other kind. Tap it when someone asks you for money in any form, however good the story. Tap it when an account pushes you toward a link, a website or another app in the first couple of lines. Tap it when someone is threatening or abusive, or when the person in front of you is plainly not the person in the photos.

In those cases, report before you unmatch, or at the same time. Unmatching alone makes the problem vanish for you. Reporting gives Tinder the chance to stop it happening to the next man.

Do not argue with the account first. Men sometimes want to call out a scammer or tell a rude match exactly what they think. It feels good for about a minute, and it achieves nothing. Tap the shield, report, unmatch, and get back to the conversations that deserve your time.

Women have the same button, and it helps to think about what they use it for.

A man who keeps writing after she has said no, pushes for her address, or sends something sexual in the first few lines is exactly who that button is there for. So is a man who gets angry when she does not answer fast enough.

None of that is hard to avoid. Keep your early conversation light and about her. Take a "no" or a slow reply at face value. Suggest a plan once she is answering warmly, and if she declines, let it go gracefully. A man who does those things never gives anyone a reason to reach for the shield, and he comes across as far more attractive than the men who do.

Safety on the apps is not only about the chat. The first date from the app is when you are actually meeting a stranger.

a dating coach's advice here is plain. Meet somewhere public and well lit, and let a friend know where you will be. Pick a place that is convenient for you, so that if the evening is not going anywhere, it costs you very little to leave politely. If you have any doubt about whether she is who she says she is, a short phone or video call before the date tells you a lot.

These are small habits. They take no effort once you have them, and they mean the shield stays a button you know about rather than one you need.

The blue shield is Tinder's safety button. In a chat or on someone's page, it opens the Safety Toolkit to unmatch, report or block. Elsewhere, it leads to the Safety Center's resources and guides. Use it for money requests, suspicious links, abuse and fake accounts, report rather than just leave, and behave so that no woman ever has a reason to tap hers on you.