Tinder (app)
Tinder is an online dating and geosocial networking application launched in 2012. On Tinder, users "swipe right" to like or "swipe left" to dislike other users' profiles, which include their photos, a short bio, and some of their interests. Tinder uses a "double opt-in" system, also called "matching", where two users must like each other before they can exchange messages.[4][5][6][7]
Founded
2012
Global
- Sean Rad
- Justin Mateen
- Whitney Wolfe
Faye Iosotaluno[1]
750[2]
Tinder, Inc.
September 12, 2012
56[3] languages
In 2022, Tinder had 10.9 million subscribers and 75 million monthly active users.[8] As of 2021, Tinder had recorded more than 65 billion matches worldwide.[9]
Lawsuits
On June 30, 2014, former vice president of marketing Whitney Wolfe filed a sexual harassment and sex discrimination suit in Los Angeles County Superior Court against IAC-owned Match Group, Tinder's parent company. The lawsuit alleged that Rad and Mateen had engaged in discrimination, sexual harassment, and retaliation against her, while Tinder's corporate supervisor, IAC's Sam Yagan, did nothing.[116] IAC suspended Mateen from his position pending an ongoing investigation, and stated that it "acknowledges that Mateen sent private messages containing inappropriate content, but it believes Mateen, Rad and the company are innocent of the allegations".[117] The suit was settled with no admission of wrongdoing, and Wolfe reportedly received over $1 million in the settlement.[16][118]
In March 2018, Match Group sued Bumble, arguing that it was guilty of patent infringement and of stealing trade secrets from Tinder.[119] In June 2020, an undisclosed settlement was reached between Match Group and Bumble to settle all litigations.[120]
In December 2018, The Verge reported that Tinder had dismissed its vice president of marketing and communication, Rosette Pambakian. Pambakian alleged former Match Group and IAC CEO Greg Blatt sexually assaulted her in a hotel room after a company party in December 2016. She further accused the company of firing her when she reported the incident.[121][122]
In August 2018, Rad, Mateen, and eight other former and current Tinder executives filed suit against Match Group and IAC, alleging that they manipulated the 2017 valuation of the company to deny them billions of dollars they were owed.[123] The suit charges that Match Group and IAC executives deliberately manipulated the data given to the banks, overestimating expenses and underestimating potential revenue growth, to keep the 2017 valuation artificially low. Tinder's 2017 valuation was set at $3 billion, unchanged from a valuation that had been done two years earlier, despite rapid growth in revenue and subscribers.[123] The plaintiffs sought more than $2 billion in damages. The trial was scheduled to begin on November 8, 2021.[124] On December 1, 2021, Match Group and the plaintiffs settled for $441 million.[125][126]
Criticism
Privacy concerns
Critics have raised concerns about Tinder regarding issues including cybersecurity, data privacy, and public health. Public health officials in Rhode Island and Utah have claimed that Tinder and similar apps are responsible for an increase in some STDs.[127] In February 2014, security researchers in New York found a flaw that made it possible to find users' precise locations for between 40 and 165 days. Tinder's spokesperson, Rosette Pambakian, said the issue was resolved within 48 hours. Tinder CEO Sean Rad said in a statement that shortly after being contacted, Tinder implemented specific measures to enhance location security and further obscure location data.[128] In August 2016, two engineers found another flaw that showed all users' matches' exact locations. The location was updated every time a user logged into the app, even for blocked matches. The issue was detected in March 2016 and fixed in August 2016.[129]
In July 2017, a study published in Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing found that Tinder users are excessively willing to disclose their personally identifiable information.[130] In September 2017, The Guardian published an article by a journalist who requested all data that the Tinder app had recorded about her from the company and found that Tinder stores all user messages, user locations and times, the characteristics of users who interest a particular user, the characteristics of particular users of interest to other users, and the length of time users spend looking at particular pictures, which for the journalist amounted to 800 pages of detail.[131]
Safety
In 2021, Tinder partnered with and invested in Garbo, a nonprofit background check company,[132] to add a feature enabling users to run background checks on their matches. Critics believe the integration of background check software discriminates against the third of the adult U.S. working population who have criminal records. Another issue critics raised was the background checks' unreliability, since they disproportionately impact Black people and other ethnic minorities. A Prison Policy Initiative spokesperson claimed that because the U.S. applies laws unequally, introducing criminal background checks to dating apps filters out marginalized groups. Moreover, public records and court documents often contain erroneous or outdated information.[133] Garbo does not advertise drug possession charges or traffic violations in an attempt to combat further marginalization.[134]
In 2022, Tinder announced a partnership with the campaign group No More in an attempt to protect its users against domestic violence, especially women, who are more vulnerable. The No More feature will educate users about safe dating.[135]
Banning of trans people
In August 2015, Business Insider reported that transgender Tinder users were being reported and banned for being transgender.[136] The article included an interview with a trans woman who also described abusive messages she received that included transmisogyny and homophobia.[136] In December 2017, Vice reported that the pattern of being reported and banned had continued.[137] The article included an anecdote from American YouTuber Kat Blaque, saying that every account she had ever had on Tinder had been banned.[137]
In March 2018, an article in The Cut reported that a trans woman sued Tinder for removing her profile and refusing to explain why it had been deleted.[138] The article further reported that many transgender people had their accounts reported and banned, some within several hours of opening them.[138] In October 2019, PinkNews reported that the reporting and banning of trans people had continued.[139] The article stated that Tinder has "50 gender options" but bans trans users for their gender identity.[139] A trans woman is reported as saying, "the fact that the system can be abused in such a way just shows, yet again, that they [Tinder] don't care about the trans and non-binary people using their app."[139]
In late 2019, articles in Reuters and The Independent focused on Tinder's lack of action to correct the issue of transgender users' accounts being reported and banned.[140][141] In August 2022, an article in The Cut highlighted the issue again.[142] One trans woman interviewed recommended OkCupid as friendlier to LGBTQ+ people.[142]
Reception
Reviews
The New York Times wrote that the wide use of Tinder could be attributed not to what Tinder was doing right but to flaws in the models of earlier dating software, which relied on mathematical algorithms to select potential partners. Relationship experts interviewed by the newspaper said that users used the photos that come in succession on the app to derive cues as to social status, confidence levels, and personal interests.[26] Marie Claire wrote that the app was "easy to use on the run," "natural," and "addictive" due to its game style, but that "it's hard to focus" and Tinder "is still very casual sex-focused—many are only on Tinder for a quick hook-up, so if it's a serious relationship you're after this app might not be for you."[143]
In September 2020, the Pakistani government announced that it would ban five dating apps, including Tinder, because the apps provided immoral or indecent content that does not comply with Pakistani law.[144]