Matchmaking app Tinder will soon be shutting off its service to under-18s.
As early as next week, Tinder will be enforcing a new policy that allows only people aged 18 years or older to sign into the dating app, according to a company statement. Several dating brands belonging to Match Group—Tinder's parent company—already enforce an adults-only restriction, including OkCupid and Match.com.
Ahead of this change, the company has made clear in its terms and conditions, that any user "must be at least 13 years of age to access and use" the app.
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To make sure that their service is used safely—along with publishing its own set of safety guidelines—the app has two separate communities, one for those aged 13-17 years; and one for those 18 and above.
The change was first reported by TechCrunch.
"On a platform that has facilitated over 11 billion connections, we have the responsibility of constantly assessing our different user experiences," Tinder's VP of communications, Rosette Pambakian, said in a statement emailed to CNBC.
"Consistent with this responsibility, we have decided to discontinue service for under 18 users. We believe this is the best policy moving forward. This change will take effect next week."
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With the app operating in some 196 countries, the company believed this move would impact less than 3 percent of its global user base.
The news is expected to be welcomed by many who have concerns over children's online safety. According to responses collected by Net Aware—an online guide to social networks and internet safety, set up by NSPCC and O2—parents, children and the initiative's independent panel suggested Tinder should be used by people who are either 16 or 18 years and older.
The policy decision by Tinder comes just a week after the company's CEO, Sean Rad, said at the Code Conference that the team was working hard to make the service more friendly and useful to transgender users.