Tinder takes Super Like feature global to boost romance worldwide
Dating app says the new feature makes users more selective, resulting in better rates of mutual attraction.
Tinder believes the world is ready to take romance to the next level with the popular matchmaking app's newest feature.
The smartphone app, which helps users anonymously locate others nearby who are interested in making a love connection, said Tuesday it has released Super Like globally after its initial launch in Australia earlier this month. The app has grown popular in the past three years with young people, allowing two users viewing each other's photos on the service to swipe left or right to indicate their interest or lack thereof.
Tinder's new Super Like feature offers the option of swiping up to indicate a higher level of interest in the other user. Because each user's number of Super Likes is limited, the feature requires them to be more selective about when to use them, which Tinder says has resulted in better rates of strong mutual attraction on the service.
"Every time we bring two people together who otherwise wouldn't have met, we're enabling endless possibilities: a great date, maybe a few good months together, maybe a lifetime, and sometimes just a wasted half hour at a bar," Sean Rad, CEO of Tinder, said in a statement. "Underlying it all is just creating more of what makes us human, what makes life exciting. We've already forged connections like this on an unprecedented global scale."
Launched in 2012 out of media conglomerate IAC's Hatch Labs, Tinder has quickly become one of the most popular online dating apps, competing with the likes of OKCupid, Match.com and Grindr. In September, the company said it has approximately 9.6 million daily users, who execute more than 1.4 billion user profile swipes each day.
The previously free service made its first move toward generating subscription revenue in March with the launch of Tinder Plus, a paid upgrade that offers users the ability to undo errant swipes and set their location to anywhere around the world. Reflecting Tinder's focus on younger users, the subscription runs $10 a month for users 18 to 29, while users 30 or older can expect to pay $20. Last year, IAC's Match Group, the unit that includes Tinder, estimated the app's revenue could hit $75 million in 2015.
Initially, the app was based on rather simple features. Once you connected it to your Facebook account, your profile was shown to eligible suitors with your name, age, a couple of pictures, and the friends or Facebook Likes you have in common. If you swipe right on someone who has also swiped right on your profile, you can chat in the app.
Since the launch of Super Like in Australia earlier this month, Tinder says it has seen the new feature triple the likelihood that users will find a meaningful match on the service. It's also increased the length of conversations by 70 percent, Tinder said. The feature has proved especially popular with women, Tinder said, contributing to a substantial rise in female subscribers in Australia.