Tinder introduces a host of new gender options

One of the world’s biggest dating apps has expanded its range of gender identity options to allow users “to express your authentic self”.

On Tuesday, Tinder announced that it had updated its gender self-identification categories so that they are now far broader than just male or female.

The company said it worked with transgender and gender non-conforming users and activists to roll out the update.

Users can edit the profile to choose almost 40 transgender and gender non-conforming options, including Transgender Man, Transgender Woman, Non-Binary, Transmasculine and Other.

If any of these are not appropriate for a user, they can type in their own identity description.

“We haven’t had the right tools to serve our diverse community in the past, but that changes today,” said the company in a statement.

“We know that we haven’t been perfect in the past. If you believe you were ever wrongfully removed from Tinder because another user reported you unfairly due to your gender, we want to invite you back to our platform.

“This is just one step in our efforts to make Tinder a more inclusive community,” said Tinder.

The new options are first being rolled out in the US, UK and Canada. It’s not clear when they will be available in all 196 countries where Tinder has users.