Tinder Tested Group Video Chat Ahead of Hyperconnect Deal

Tinder was testing a group video chat feature before its parent company Match Group struck an acquisition deal for South Korea social discovery company Hyperconnect.

The new feature was called Tinder Mixer and was being tested in New Zealand before it was scrapped, according to Tech Crunch. Tinder Mixer allowed people nearby to join group chats and play online video games together, adding to the app’s existing one-on-one virtual chat feature.

Tinder Mixer was discovered by researcher Alessandro Paluzzi, who found references to the feature in the app’s code. However, Tinder shut it down quickly and told Tech Crunch it’s not impacting its “product roadmap” for this year. However, Paluzzi’s findings about Tinder Mixer shows that Match Group is experimenting with new social discovery features through its dating apps, which shines some light on the company’s deal with Hyperconnect.

Hyperconnect is a social discovery space with two main apps Azar and Hakuna Live, with the former focusing on one-to-one virtual and audio conversations and the latter on livestreaming. Both of these formats are geared towards younger audiences, which might explain why Tinder was testing the feature as part of its appeal to attract younger daters. 

Social discovery features are not new for Match Group, who already launched a livestream feature on dating app Plenty of Fish, but it’s telling that this is potentially where the company thinks the future of dating apps is headed. In fact, Match Group believes that the social discovery market could be twice as big as the dating market is now, according to Tech Crunch, with CEO Shar Dubey noting at a recent JP Morgan Technology, Media and Communications conference that a number of its users were looking for “a shared experience and a sense of community.”

The Hyperconnect deal serves another purpose for Match Group, and that is getting a foothold in the Asian market, where 75 percent of the platform’s users reside. Match Group has been investing heavily in marketing and business development in Asian markets like Japan, India, South Korea and Southeast Asia, including hiring executive teams to oversee these regions, and Hyperconnect’s technology and brand identity could help them grow subscribers across their dating apps.

“We think there is real synergy of bringing some of these experiences that are popular in social discovery platforms onto our dating platforms, as well as sort of enhance the social discovery platforms and help people get to their dating intent, should they choose to,” Dubey said at the conference.

For more on this dating service you can read our Tinder review.