Tinder, the popular dating app, has updated its options to allow users to choose transgender or gender-nonconforming identities.

The move, part of a push against persistent harassment against transgender people on the service, was hailed by community advocates as an important example for other social media platforms.

Executives became aware of the harassment problem seven months ago, according to Sean Rad, the chief executive of Tinder. He said the abuse took two main forms: transgender users being verbally attacked by people they matched with, and transgender users being reported as abusive themselves by people “on the merits of who they were and not necessarily what they were saying or doing.”