Milestones

Tinder just announced a host of new features for its app, along with its “Rizz-First” redesign, an obvious move to court the coveted Gen Z market.

While adopting the popular Gen Z slang for “charisma” was widely seen as a cringeworthy move for the dating app company, experts also agree that trying to appeal to the Gen Z market is important for dating apps, especially as subscriber bases and revenue are falling. The new Rizz-First look includes enhanced and updated animations, a new “It’s a Match!” screen, and prompts and quizzes that younger daters prefer when getting to know someone over an app.

According to the company’s announcement, the team saw a growing need to provide a more engaging experience. In fact, Tinder’s recent Future of Dating Report found that 69 percent of Gen Z daters say that dating standards need “refreshing” to fit a modern and diverse society. Overall, daters need a bit more than a photo, a brief bio, and a swipe to feel connected to someone.

X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, will be expanded to include a dating app feature.

According to Fox Business, Musk recently held a company-wide meeting on the anniversary of his acquisition of Twitter to announce where he sees the platform headed. At the meeting, employees report that he said that X will become a “fully fledged” dating app in 2024, according to Business Insider.

At the meeting, he also mentioned that banking and transaction features will be added to the app in the near future, referring to these two major moves as being part of the new “everything app” he envisions for X.

Bumble’s founder and longtime CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd will step down from the helm, and Lidiane Jones, the CEO of workplace messaging tool Slack will take over in January. Herd will move to Executive Chair of the company.

The news comes as Bumble’s stock price has fallen over 80 percent since it went public two years ago (from $76 to below $14). The dating app is not alone. Match Group is also going through a rough period, thanks to inflation and other economic concerns. Members are dropping their subscriptions and not using paid services on the apps, causing a decline in revenue the last few quarters.

Herd supported Jones in a statement: “This move to Executive Chair gives me the ability to step forward into a new and exciting role, get back to my founder roots and bring immense passion and focus to this next chapter of growth,” According to CNN, Wolfe Herd also added that she and Jones would be “fantastic partners.”

The stock price for dating app conglomerate Match Group dropped after the company revealed that its Tinder app saw a significant drop in paying users. Shares went down more than 15 percent to $29, the lowest price it has traded for since the company spun off from IAC in July of 2020.

According to Newsweek, Match Group sent a letter to shareholders in early November with the news that Tinder had lost 826,000 paying customers. CEO Bernard Kim said in the letter: "While our collective efforts have put the company on much improved footing, there is still much work to be done.”

Match Group’s reported third quarter earnings were a highlight - they beat analyst estimates ($881.6 million compared to the expected $880.6 million), according to LSEG, formerly Refinitiv.

Match Group’s new queer dating app Archer launched nationwide on October 11th, which was also National Coming Out Day. And to celebrate, the app hosted parties at popular gay bars across the country.

The app’s headquarters is based in Dallas and Austin (also Match Group’s headquarters), which have some of the country’s most active LGBTQIA+ scenes. Prior to launch, the app was tested in the New York and Los Angeles markets and saw early success, especially among younger users. The company points out that 62 percent of people on Archer were 35 years or younger, according to Culture Map Austin.

The launch parties and events taking place in major cities (though not Austin), are in line with Archer’s mission: an app designed to foster a social environment. The app is marketed as a “social first” app, allowing users to express themselves through photos, messaging (including group messaging), and connecting without any kind of preset label. In fact, the profiles are arranged in feed and grid view options typically found in social media, rather than on dating apps.

Tinder announced its new exclusive VIP service Tinder Select, which will cost members almost $500 per month (which works out to $6,000 per year!).

The new service will give top-tier members access to new features like a “VIP search, matching and conversation,” according to Bloomberg, none of which are currently available in Tinder’s existing paid subscription plans. Tinder did not reveal any details about the features.

The new service might have some similarities to exclusive dating app The League, which Tinder’s parent company Match Group acquired last year. There’s a market for exclusivity on dating apps, and the company is betting that offering a premium service will work for Tinder, too.

Tinder has been testing the VIP service, but now it’s an official subscription tier, at least for those invited to join. The new service was only offered to less than 1 percent of the most active Tinder users, according to Bloomberg News.