Seattle, Washington – Tinder unveiled a new “Parental Controls” feature yesterday, following a mortifying mishap last week when 28-year-old barista Ethan Ramirez swiped right on his own mother during a late-night scrolling session. The accidental match, which led to an awkward exchange of messages about Ramirez’s “killer smile” before the familial reveal, quickly went viral on social media after Ramirez shared screenshots in a panic. Tinder’s parent company, Match Group, confirmed the rollout aims to prevent such “incestuous interface errors” by allowing users to input family members’ profiles for automatic blocking.
Ramirez, still recovering from the trauma, recounted the ordeal in an interview outside his Capitol Hill coffee shop. “I thought she was just some quirky 52-year-old yoga instructor with a bio about ‘finding inner peace and outer space,'” he said, shaking his head. “Next thing I know, she’s texting, ‘Ethan, is that you? We need to talk about your laundry habits,’ and I’m deleting the app faster than I delete my browser history.” His mother, Linda Ramirez, a part-time real estate agent, took it in stride but with a twist of her own humor: “Hey, at least he noticed me—better than ignoring my calls for the past year. But seriously, Tinder, add a ‘family filter’ before I end up matching with the dog next.”
The feature, which integrates facial recognition and optional DNA upload for premium users, has already sparked memes and debates online about privacy versus preventing Freudian slip-ups. Tinder executives promise it will launch globally next month, with beta testing in high-density family cities like Seattle. Early adopters report smoother swiping, though some worry it might accidentally block distant cousins or that one uncle who “looks just like your dad.”