Tidal disruption events (TDEs) are currently discovered in ever increasing numbers by optical transient  surveys. Similarly, the eROSITA and planned Einstein Probe X-ray satellites are expected to discover many  TDEs in X-rays. TDEs are one of the most direct and promising routes to study otherwise quiescent supermassive black holes (SMBHs) and the accretion  processes. I will introduce TDEs and show how we expect to learn about the black hole mass and spin and how this will help us understand the formation and evolution of SMBHs. Among the questions we would like to answer using TDE studies are: Do intermediate-mass black holes exist?; What is the spin distribution of supermassive black holes?

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