Features

Tinder is testing a new height feature, which sparked controversy among daters after a screenshot from a Reddit forum disclosing the feature was leaked.

According to Tech Crunch, Tinder confirmed that it is testing the height feature, but only among its paying users. In other words, subscribers to Tinder Gold and Tinder Premium who are participating in the test group can now filter their matches according to height preferences. The testing is taking place globally.

According to Tech Crunch, the feature allows paying users to set preferences for height, but the app won’t block or exclude matches who don’t meet the requirements. Instead, the company says the feature will “inform recommendations.”

Tinder CEO Faye Iosotaluno announced in a post on LinkedIn that she will be leaving her role in July after two years as head of the app and eight years working for parent company Match Group.

This is the latest shakeup for Match Group, whose new CEO Spencer Rascoff recently announced that Tinder’s chief technology officer would also be leaving at the end of May, with no replacement named.

Match Group said it would be laying off 13 percent of its workforce in efforts to cut spending, the bulk of which would come from Tinder, according to The New York Post. Tinder has seen a decline in paying users over the last several quarters, and activist investors have been pushing for a turnaround. Hinge is the company’s bright spot, which is steadily growing despite the industry’s general decline.

Bumble appears to be matching its users with people they have already blocked, according to a report from Rolling Stone.

The app has come under fire after this practice came to light over social media. According to Rolling Stone, professor Jennie Young at University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, who specializes in rhetoric and gender studies, shared a post on Instagram with a screenshot from Bumble’s support center after asking them why she was matching with users she previously blocked.

“Bumble will show you people you have swiped left/blocked on in the past — in case you have changed your mind,” the screenshot captured of Bumble's response.  

Tinder has launched a new game featuring AI bots that users can interact with to practice flirting, enact meet-cute scenarios, and get suggestions on how they can improve their skills.

According to Tech Crunch, “The Game Game” as Tinder calls it, is accessible over the app. When a user clicks on the Tinder logo in the top left corner, the game is activated and provides the user with a set of cards, each one featuring a different AI persona in a different scenario.  

Users can respond by talking and flirting with the bot directly and seeing if they can score a “date.”

Bumble announced it has added ID Verification in addition to other new safety-related features to attract singles back to its app.

The new verification feature lets users submit a photo of a government-issued ID to prove they are who they say they are, and then they can earn a verified badge for their profile, according to Tech Crunch.

The female-centered app is appealing its core demographic with the announcement – focusing on its female clientele who are looking for more safety features on dating apps. ID Verification is available in 11 countries, including the U.S., U.K., Australia, France and India. The company intends to roll out in more countries in the coming months, according to The Seattle Times.

Hinge has launched a new feature called Match Notes, which allows users to privately share details about themselves that they don’t want to post to their public profiles.

Match Notes instead allows users to share these details only with their potential matches, including important information like if they are non-monogamous, sober, have a disability, or are recently out, according to Mashable.

Now when a user updates their settings, they can add the Match Note, which appears only to users they match with. According to Mashable, If someone has added a Match note, another user must acknowledge it in order to actually match (or they can also choose to not match with the person). The Match Note is automatically shared when two people Like each other (or in other words, when they officially match).