Tinder Rolling Out New Global Mode

Tinder Introduces Global Mode

Image: Tinder

Tinder announced that it will soon be rolling out its new Global Mode feature which allows Tinder users to match with anyone regardless of where they live, with no geographical limitations.

Global Mode will allow users to opt in for their profiles to be visible to users around the world, and will allow them to match with people from other countries, according to The Verge. It differs from Passport, which allowed users to pick a city (typically a travel destination) so that they could match with people in that specific location. Global Mode expands this capability without limits, and it’s free.

The pandemic and subsequent lockdown of many places around the world forced dating app users to rely on technology to meet people – and virtual dating became a popular way to connect. Tinder and other dating apps have capitalized on this new dating habit, offering in-app video chats (which Tinder plans to roll out later this summer), livestream and other tools to help people connect virtually. 

Hinge Labs has been studying virtual dating trends among its users and found that 85% felt that it was a good way to get to know someone before meeting in person. Over 50% said they would continue to go on virtual dates even after the pandemic is over.

In a recent interview with BBC News, Tinder CEO Elie Seidman noted that dating habits have changed since the beginning of the pandemic. While people aren’t meeting in person, they are spending more time on the app and engaging in conversation with other users through in-app messaging. Relationships are forming online more now than they ever have before.

Part of that trend began with Gen Z users gravitating to dating apps. They have grown up in a digital world and are more comfortable forming relationships online. Seidman thinks the pandemic just accelerated this shift to virtual dating. “Your digital life is as important as your social life in the physical world,” he said.

He also noted that Tinder revenue will likely be negatively affected by coronavirus over the next few quarters. As the economy has faltered and unemployment has risen sharply over the past several weeks, people have been uncertain of their financial futures, and therefore are less willing to pay for premium services. As places have begun to reopen however, he says there has been an increase in paid memberships.

“You can literally see the comeback on a state by state basis [in the US], as things come out and start to loosen up, as the peak crisis starts to pass,” he told BBC News.

Tinder is currently testing Global Mode but plans to roll it out more widely soon.