Tinder

Dating App Tinder launched its new Tinder Explore section, where users can find a more interactive matching experience that is focused on events and areas of interest where users can make connections.

According to Tech Crunch, the new section will offer an events space that includes Swipe Night, its popular interactive series where users can watch and strike up conversations, and “Hot Takes,” the app’s virtual speed dating experience. Swipe Night returns to the platform for a second season later this year, featuring a who-dunnit style mystery. This time, the series will include a “Fast Chat” feature where users can interact with each other without having to match as they watch the story unfold together. 

Tinder’s Hot Takes feature will also be housed in Tinder Explore, where users can start chatting with anyone who’s there. As a timer appears, they will be given a limited time to decide whether to match before their chat expires and they are sent to the next potential match. This feature was tested earlier this year for limited periods of time, and the company says millions have used it so far.

Tinder CEO Jim Lanzone

Tinder CEO Jim Lanzone said the company is focused on more “immersive” experiences to appeal to a growing, younger Gen Z user base, including creating more original content for its platform. (note: a September 11, 2021 announcement stated as of September 27, Jim Lanzone will be the new CEO at Yahoo!)

Lanzone sat down with entertainment industry magazine Variety to explain why the company invested in its original interactive series Swipe Night, and how the response to it is helping shape the company’s focus moving forward. 

Gen Z users are looking for more “immersive” experiences, as Lanzone told Variety, and not just scrolling and swiping through profiles. He hinted at the company’s shift towards more of an entertainment platform to engage these young daters. 

Tinder announced that it will roll out its ID verification system worldwide so users can verify their ages. This follows the app’s photo verification feature to address the issue of eliminating fake profiles propagating the app.

ID verification will be prominently displayed on a user’s profile, similar to the blue checkmark currently used for a verified photo, according to Tech Crunch.

Tinder began beta testing ID verification regionally in 2019 and said it will be rolling it out worldwide over the next few quarters. In most countries the service will be voluntary, at least for now, to address the challenge of underage people using the app. However, in places like Japan where it’s against the law for people under 18 to use dating apps, verifying ages will be mandatory. The feature will be free to use.

Tinder released a new study of dating app users in India, finding that their attitudes and behavior are changing, particularly in the last year as people grappled with dating during a pandemic. The company found that users engaged with each other over the app 32 percent longer compared to this time last year, and nearly half had video chatted with a match.

The company’s Future of Dating report also found that individual engagement on its app had increased – with swipes up 11 percent and matches up 42 percent per user over the same period.

The study points out that many of India’s dating app users are younger and aren’t necessarily looking for anything serious, a shift from the traditional marriage-focused dating culture. In fact, 62 percent of respondents said they wanted to “see where things go” when it comes to meeting new people and weren’t comfortable conforming to society’s expectations of dating. 

Dating app users flocked to dating apps during the month of July, setting a new record for activity and engagement, according to a recent study from Apptopia.

The app research firm has been collecting data since 2015 and found that active daily users on the most popular dating apps – including Tinder and Bumble – jumped to almost 15 million in July, an all-time high, as reported by Bloomberg. 

This follows news from media outlets anticipating a “hot vax summer,” where singles were getting ready to meet dates in person again after a series of lockdowns due to the Covid-19 pandemic. With the distribution of vaccines on the rise, especially in the U.S., U.K. and Australia, dating app users were getting vaccinated and flocking to apps to connect and schedule dates. 

Dating app conglomerate Match Group announced that it will launch new audio and video chat features to its suite of dating apps over the next two years. The company shared this news on its second quarter earnings call with investors.

The company plans to debut a new audio chat feature and group video chat, along with other “livestreaming technologies” across its apps, according to Tech Crunch. The rollouts will happen over the next 12 to 24 months, with two of their dating apps debuting it before the end of this year, followed by more rollouts in 2022.

Adding new livestream and chat features are the result of the company’s pricey acquisition of social discovery platform Hyperconnect (the acquisition’s officially closed in mid-June). Match Group owns a series of popular dating apps including Tinder, Hinge, OkCupid and Plenty of Fish among others, and has said that the future of dating apps will likely resemble social platforms, with livestreaming and video being at the forefront.