Types (Niche)

Ever feel like you’ve swiped so much your thumb hurts? That’s not just you. Meta is pushing back against dating-app burnout by embedding a new AI “dating assistant” and a weekly surprise match feature called “Meet Cute” directly into Facebook Dating. These innovations are designed to help skip the endless scroll, but do they bring connection—or risk?

Swipe fatigue—dating burnout from browsing match after match—has become a real barrier for many. To counter that, the assistant enables you to type specific prompts (for example, “find me someone who loves poetry and dogs”) and get help refining your profile and matches. Meet Cute will automatically pair you with someone once a week using algorithmic matchmaking according to the Meta press release.

Ever had one of those moments where you realize the only way forward is to build something better yourself? That’s the heart of Swiped, the upcoming Hulu film that follows Whitney Wolfe Herd’s journey from co-founding Tinder to creating Bumble, an app that flipped the online dating script by putting women in control.

In the film, Lily James steps into the role of Whitney, a recent college grad stepping into the high-energy, male-dominated tech world. At first, she’s part of the Tinder team—only to find herself navigating toxic workplace politics and misogyny that no one should have to endure. When those walls close in, Whitney doesn’t just walk away. She reimagines what a dating app could be and launches Bumble, building not just a company but a safer, more empowering space for women. The twist? That bold move eventually makes her the youngest female self-made billionaire.

Tinder has launched Tinder U in India, a new feature that connects college students attending the same school or other nearby universities.

According to Indian Express,Tinder U allows students with a valid school email address to opt in to the feature, which works as a dedicated space for college students to connect and search for other students with the same interests. Once a new user is verified through the app’s application process, they can populate their profiles with details like college clubs, sports, and other activities to make it easy to find matches and expand their circles – whether for friendship or dating.

Tinder U users can also add the year they graduate and their majors to spark interest with others in the same graduating year or program of study. Users can also “Superlike” someone who grabs their interest.

In time for dating apps’ busiest season, Tinder launched a new ad campaign to persuade young daters that they can find real love on its app.

The ads use humor to show how Tinder can turn negative moments in dating into the start of something special, reminding users that they can find significant relationships on the app. Tinder is moving to dispel stereotypes, including that people use it only for hookups.

The campaign was created by Mischief @ No Fixed Address, the ad agency Tinder partnered with in its previous campaign “It Starts with a Swipe,” according to Tinder’s press release.

Match Group is refocusing the strategy for its most popular dating app Tinder, the company announced this week. It faces increasing pressure from activist investors to improve its financial forecast.

Match Group said in its recent investor day meeting that it plans to “prioritize improving user experience over monetization,” According to Bloomberg. The idea is if Tinder moves away from its reputation as a hookup app it can reverse the continued decline in paying users.

The company also shared that revenue will be flat or in decline through 2026, but will start to turn around in 2027 with slow, single-digit growth, according to Bloomberg. Shares in Match Group fell during the meeting as these proclamations were made.

Cheers, a new matchmaking app founded by former Instagram engineer Sahil Ahuja, has launched in New York.

The new app is focused on building connections by offering a similar format to social platforms like Instagram, where users can add unlimited photos and videos to their profile (similar to social media apps), so other users get a feel for who they are. Cheers uses AI in some of its features as do most dating apps now, including for photo selection and to set up user profiles.

According to Tech Crunch, Cheers is differentiating itself from apps like Tinder and Bumble by offering posting features and friend-matchmaking in addition to romantic connections, leaning heavily into the social media model.