SafeMatch Track: Community Kitchen
Problem Statement / Inspiration: Dating apps make meeting strangers easier than ever, but they do not consistently give users access to relevant, verified safety information before an in-person date. The consequences can be severe. In a ProPublica and Columbia Journalism Investigations investigation of 157 reported sexual-assault incidents involving dating apps, 10% involved someone previously accused or convicted of sexual assault. The investigation also documented the case of Mark Papamechail, a three-time convicted rapist listed on Massachusetts's sex-offender registry who was matched wwith women on Plenty of Fish without the platform screening against that registry (Flynn et al., 2019).
Other cases illustrate why this information gap deserves attention: Sade Robinson was murdered on a first date with Maxwell Anderson, who had documented prior criminal convictions, including a domestic-abuse-related case and a battery incident (Associated Press, 2025; WISN, 2025). The 2025 murder of Kayli Arseth by a man she met through a dating app further highlights the human cost of dating-related violence. (Hennepin County Attorney's Office, 2026).
These cases reveal an opportunity to make relevant public safety information easier to access and interpret before a date.
SafeMatch is an AI-powered dating app that searches supported public sources, helps verify whether records correspond to the correct person, and presents findings with direct source links and clear explanations of case outcomes. By distinguishing convictions from allegations, acknowledging missing information, and avoiding unsupported danger predictions, SafeMatch aims to help people make more informed decisions without promising that any background check can guarantee safety. People should not have to become private investigators to make informed decisions about their safety. SafeMatch makes relevant, verifiable information easier to understand, while preserving privacy and respecting the limits of background checks.
What it does
How we built it
Challenges we ran into
Accomplishments that we're proud of
What we learned
What's next for SafeMatch
Associated Press. (2025, June 6). Jury finds Milwaukee man guilty of killing and dismembering 19-year-old woman. https://apnews.com/article/cf8658bb54dc7f430f519ed92936f41a
Flynn, H., Cousins, K., & Naismith Picciani, E. (2019, December 2). Tinder lets known sex offenders use the app. It's not the only one. ProPublica. https://www.propublica.org/article/tinder-lets-known-sex-offenders-use-the-app-its-not-the-only-one
Hennepin County Attorney's Office. (2026, October 15). Jose Lopez Xique sentenced to life in prison after HCAO secures first-degree murder conviction for 2025 “rejection killing”. Hennepin County. https://www.hennepinattorney.org/news/news/2026/October/lopez-xique-sentencing
WISN. (2025). Who is Maxwell Anderson? Suspect in Sade Robinson's killing. https://www.wisn.com/article/who-is-maxwell-anderson-suspect-in-sade-robinson-killing-milwaukee/64865398
Wisconsin Circuit Court. (2024, June 3). Sade Robinson estate v. Maxwell Anderson (Case No. 2024CV004381, Complaint). Court filing.
Anderson, M., Vogels, E. A., & Turner, E. (2023, February 2). The experiences of U.S. online daters. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2023/02/02/the-experiences-of-u-s-online-daters/
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