Dating Apps Partner with US Government to Promote Vaccines 

The U.S. government is doing all it can to encourage people to get vaccinated, including partnering with dating apps to reach more people while they congregate online. Tinder, Bumble, OkCupid, Hinge, Match and Plenty of Fish are some of the most high-profile apps participating.

The dating apps are providing some incentives for vaccinated users, too – including vaccination status badges for easy identification among matches, search filters according to who has gotten the vaccine, and free access to popular paid features, according to NextGov. 

For example, Tinder users can indicate whether they support vaccines on their profile and vaccinated users can access “Super Likes” – a popular paid feature that allows users to let someone know if they are really interested.

Some apps such as Bumble and OkCupid are adding a vaccination badge to their profiles for easy identification. OkCupid will also allow users to filter based on vaccine status and will offer the paid “boost” feature for free. Bumble is allowing access to paid content like “spotlight” and “superswipes” for free as well. 

The campaign is being promoted across the apps and will run through July 4th, in line with the federal government’s deadline to have 70 percent of US adults at least partially vaccinated. According to recent reports from the CDC (Centers for Disease Control), about 134 million people in the U.S. are fully vaccinated, or just over 41 percent of the population.

OkCupid and Tinder have tracked data related to vaccine mentions among their users, which the Biden Administration cited in a press release. OkCupid users who are vaccinated or plan to get vaccinated accumulate fourteen percent more matches than those who don’t, and Tinder noted that mentions of the word “vaccine” have risen 800 percent since the beginning of the pandemic, with an all-time high number of mentions in April when distribution opened up to all adults nationwide.

“We’re excited to work with the White House to help 70% of American adults get vaccinated by July 4th,” Jim Lanzone, CEO of Tinder, said in a press release. “Nothing like fireworks to signal a new spark and a new start for those looking to meet new people IRL this summer.”

"Social distancing and dating were always a bit of a challenging combination," Andy Slavitt, a White House senior adviser for the COVID-19 response, told NPR. He noted that more than 50 million people in the U.S. use dating apps, so these platforms’ ability to incentivize users is key to reaching nationwide vaccination goals. He said: “We have finally found the one thing that makes us all more attractive: a vaccine.”