Australia

Image: Tinder

Tinder announced the launch of its new feature Festival Mode, designed to bring singles together through their mutual love of live music.

The dating app company partnered with Live Nation, as well as event producers AEG Presents and Superstruct Entertainment to offer users who plan to attend festivals this year the opportunity to connect with other attendees over the app, so they can meet up. Participants can match with others as early as a month before the event, and the app will feature over 20 of the biggest festivals across the globe, including The Governors Ball, Bonnaroo, Stagecoach and EDC Las Vegas, as well as Lollapalooza Paris, Falls Festival in Australia, Sonar in Spain and All Points East in the UK. 

The feature will also include a “Festival Goers” space for those who don’t see their event listed or simply want to be part of “festival culture,” according to Tinder’s press release. Festival Mode will be part of the Explore section of the app.

Tinder is breaking new ground in the dating app industry by offering its own in-app currency for users to spend as they swipe. 

According to Bloomberg, Tinder will be testing in-app “coins” that users obtain by keeping their profiles updated and being active on the app, or alternatively, they can purchase them with real money. The coins can be spent on paid features Tinder offers like Super Likes (letting someone know you’re very interested) and Boosts (which promote your profile to other users).

Tinder is expanding its offerings beyond the swipe to create more stickiness with young daters, and the new currency is a way to monetize these features as people spend more time on its app. The company announced the launch of the Explore section in September, which features short form original content like its hit series Swipe Night and virtual speed dating with “Hot Takes.” 

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. 

Popular dating apps like Tinder and Bumble that operate in Australia and New Zealand are starting to add vaccination badges as a new profile feature to entice people to match and date. Bumble is rolling its badge out at the end of July, while Tinder is still a few weeks away.

The apps have already rolled out this popular feature in the U.S. and U.K., and now that Australians and New Zealanders are signing up to receive a vaccine, they will be expanding the feature to offer it in these countries, too. 

According to The Guardian, only 11 percent of Australians are fully vaccinated, which might make it more difficult for dating apps to offer as an incentive to match, at least for now. The Astro-Zeneca vaccine is available to eligible adults in the countries, but many are opting to wait for Pfizer, which remains in limited supply. But Australia and New Zealand are ahead of the game - many countries are still waiting for any vaccine dosages to become available for their populations.

Tinder Are you Sure?
Feature for sending Messages

Image: Tinder

Dating app Tinder unveiled a new feature as part of its effort to step up safety measures on its platform. “Are You Sure?” or the AYS? feature will deliver a pop-up to question a user before they send a potentially harmful message.

According to Mashable, AYS? utilizes AI in real time to detect inappropriate language, based on what users have reported to Tinder in the past. When a user types a message that is flagged or noticed by the AI, an AYS? prompt will automatically appear before the user can press “send.” According to Tinder, in early tests this feature reduced harmful language in messages by as much as 10 percent. The company also said that members who saw this pop-up were less likely to be reported for sending inappropriate messages, an indication that it could curb this behavior.

The goal with using an AI-driven feature is that it will improve and become more effective in countering harmful messages over time as it gathers more input.

NSW, Australia’s police force, was in talks with Match Group about new safety proposals to address sexual assault among daters that meet over the company’s apps, but Match Group has so far rejected implementing them.

The proposals from NSW could pose challenges regarding user privacy. The policing agency suggested using AI to scan conversations between users for potential red flags according to Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). NSW also proposed a portal for police to access any reports of sexual assault sent to Match Group’s dating apps. 

"We recognize we have an important role to play in helping prevent sexual assault and harassment in communities around the world,” Match Group said in a statement. "We are committed to ongoing discussions and collaboration with global partners in law enforcement and with leading sexual assault organizations like RAINN to help make our platforms and communities safer.”