In an attempt to give its mostly-Gen Z user base a wider range of options to click, swipe, and scroll through on their journeys to find love, Tinder announced on Wednesday that it had begun rolling out a series of planned updates to its app designed to make online dating a more immersive, interactive experience.
As part of the initiative, the app’s design will now feature an expanded “Explore” section, which will appear as an icon at the bottom of the app alongside the usual options for swipe mode, messages and matches. Within that “Explore” tab, users will now have access to a series of new ways to discover and sort their matches, including the option to connect based on shared interests in categories like Foodies, Gamers, Music Lovers, Social Causes, Entrepreneurs, and more. That list of interests will eventually expand over time, according to Tinder, better positioning members to make genuine connections based on common values, rather than on surface-level judgments like looks.
Beginning in November, Tinder will also be bringing back “Swipe Night,” the popular in-app “choose your own adventure” series that led to a 26% increase in matches during its first run in 2019, according to the app. In November, the series will reportedly return with a new “whodunit”-style storyline, and will allow unmatched users to chat with each other within the app.
That ability to chat with users you haven’t matched with is also utilised in Tinder’s “Hot Takes” feature, which is also set to get a feature on Tinder’s “Explore” page. According to the company, “Hot Takes” is like a lower-stakes way for users to explore their connections without officially matching: A timer counts down as users chat, giving them the option to either match or swipe on to the next — the digital equivalent to a round of speed-dating.
“A new generation of daters is asking for more from us in the post-covid world: more ways to have fun and interact with others virtually and more control over who they meet on Tinder,” Tinder CEO Jim Lanzone said in a Wednesday statement announcing the changes. “Today’s launch of Explore is a major step in creating a deeper, multi-dimensional, interactive experience for our members that expands the possibilities of Tinder as a platform.”
Tinder Explore is already popping up in English-speaking markets, and is set to be available globally by mid-October.