Tinder Is Betting on a Major Product Overhaul—and That Gen Z Wants More Than Swipes

New features designed to lure users back to the app come following a $50 million investment commitment from parent company Match.

BY CHLOE AIELLO, REPORTER @CHLOBO_ILO

Illustration: Inc; Photo: Getty Images, Tinder

Tinder is pulling out all the stops to get Gen-Z users back on the apps. The dating app company, famous for its rapid-fire swiping interface, announced a slate of both IRL and AI-powered features to make its platform more attractive to younger generations. The changes come as young singles increasingly swear off online dating in favor of real-world interactions amid a proliferation of bots on the platform and research from Pew showing a high percentage of users experience unwanted behaviors and run-ins with potential scammers during online dating.

“We’re expanding the ways that people get started – from new formats and real-world experiences, to profiles that help show who you really are,” Match Group and Tinder CEO Spencer Rascoff said in a statement. “We’re using AI to surface more relevant connections, and continuing to raise the bar on safety so that people feel confident taking the next step.”

Although Tinder remains its top earner, Match Group owns a portfolio of dating apps including Hinge, Match.com and OkCupid, but does not own Bumble.

New offerings include virtual speed dating events and AI-powered screening to determine potential chemistry. “Black Mirror,” anyone?

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Speed dating won’t actually take place in-person. Instead it will allow photo-verified users to meet via three-minute video chats, offering the potential to match with multiple fellow users. That feature is expected to kick off in spring. Alongside speed dating, Tinder plans to launch “Events,” which it is already piloting in Los Angeles. The feature is meant to facilitate the discovery of curated local activities like pottery classes and trivia nights, where matches can meet in-person—which sound, suspiciously, like normal dates.

“You can go to an event with your friend and have a good time, or you could meet somebody new,” Tinder SVP of product Hillary Paine told TechCrunch. “Instead of asking users to choose between their dating life and their social life, we’re trying to blend these things together and create a more social community first experience.”

In the aftermath of events, Tinder promises to offer the profiles of attendees for users to swipe through in case they missed their chance to connect IRL, TechCrunch noted.

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