Tinder

Dating apps have provided a great way for people to connect, but along with the positives, the downside to dating apps still looms large - users aren't necessarily safe when they are meeting new people.

Dating app users can become easy targets for sexually predatory behavior. The question of security in online dating has once again entered the news headlines, thanks to the conviction of Stephen Port, a UK man who was accused and found guilty of killing four men he met through gay dating apps.

Port met his victims by catfishing them through various dating apps including Grindr, posting fake profiles and avoiding using any real details about himself, encouraging them to meet in person before drugging their drinks. 

Dating app giant Tinder is trying to maintain its huge lead in the online dating market, and is also looking for new ways to monetize. In late 2016 the company launched Tinder Boost, a new paid feature to help users “skip the line” and be more prominently featured to other users. This comes after the success of the launch of its premium paid service, Tinder Plus.

Tinder Boost provides a unique advantage to its users. The new feature places its users at the top of searches for 30 minutes, giving them up to 10 times more profile views than the standard method. While Tinder Boost is activated, other relevant, potential matches within the area will see your profile before anyone else’s. This could make a huge difference in your chances of connecting, since competing among Tinder’s 50 million users can be quite challenging. It’s easy to be overlooked, especially if users are mindlessly swiping.

Tinder Boost also offers a built-in timer that lets people see how many minutes are remaining, so you can take full advantage of the thirty minutes you get.

Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Tinder…

It’s officially been four years since Tinder first appeared in app stores (this past October). Today it boasts over 40 million users worldwide and more than a billion daily swipes. It’s used in 196 countries, has been downloaded 100 million times, has made 10 billion total matches, and has launched 1.5 million dates. Tinder is now worth a reported $1.2 billion. It’s the app everyone loves and loves to hate.

In honor of the big birthday, let’s take a stroll down memory lane and remember how Tinder became mobile dating’s flashiest success story.

Selecting your Gender on Tinder

Last month, Tinder rolled out a new feature for its popular dating app that provides daters with more gender options to complete their profiles. Following a similar move by OkCupid, Tinder users will be given more options than just “male” and “female” when selecting a gender.

By selecting the “More” option, users can choose between almost 40 identities, including “non-binary,” “transgender woman,” “transgender man,” “transmasculine,” “agender,” “two-spirit” and “other.” Users can also write in their own gender identity if none of these options apply.

According to website Slate, this was a move forward by Tinder to reach out to the trans community, who have reported being discriminated against and harassed on the app. Trans users were frequently reported as “spam,” or accused of trolling on the app, typically by other users who weren’t happy to be matched with someone who was trans. As a result of this false reporting, trans users often found themselves unfairly blocked, as Tinder didn’t have the capacity to thoroughly verify each complaint.

Dating apps found their foothold with younger users. Tinder launched on college campuses in 2012, and 90% percent of its earliest users were aged between 18 and 24. It wasn’t chance; it was strategy.

“They thought if this product is successful among that young college demographic, who also happens to be the most social group of people on the planet [and] the least likely to need an app to meet people, it can [work] for anyone,” Tinder spokesperson Rosette Pambaki told Complex.

Tinder’s wager was right, and in the years that followed, it and other apps like it became explosively popular amongst younger users. But times change, and if a company is to survive, it must change with them. The Wall Street Journal reports that dating apps are now welcoming singles in their late 30s and beyond for one simple, but essential, reason: their money.

Since Tinder launched in 2012, new users have been given two options to describe themselves: male or female. For much of the population, the decision was easy. But for a significant portion, those two words posed a problem.

Transgender and gender non-conforming Tinder users had no way to accurately identify, and many experienced harassment as a result. When news of their troubling experiences reached company CEO Sean Rad, he decided the app was in need of an update.

New Tinder users are now presented with three options: 'male,' 'female,' and 'more.' Selecting 'more' reveals dozens of new terms members can use to describe their identity. The company partnered with media advocacy organization GLAAD to develop a list of nearly 40 auto-fill suggestions. Users can also type in their own perferred terms.