Tinder is leaning towards app dating reputation for superficiality by launching new features that allow paid subscribers to add height preferences to their profiles.
After Reddit users posted a photo of the new height setting in the Tinder app, a company spokesman confirmed to TechCrunch that discovery settings have begun as a global test.
Tinder Gold and Premium subscribers in the test group have access to the features, but are not free users. Moreover, the setting shows preferences rather than acting as a “hard filter,” the company says. This means that it actually informs you of recommendations rather than blocking or exclude profiles.
“We've always listened to what's most important to Tinder users. Testing your pay-taking preferences is a great example of how to build with urgency, clarity and focus.” “This is part of a broader effort to help people connect more intentionally with Tinder. Our new product principles guide every decision. This will quickly guide you to learn quickly, prioritizing the results of the users. Not all tests will become permanent features.
Normally, dating apps can filter people by more traditional concerns, such as someone's age, long-term relationships and whether or not they want a child, but the height setting can cause more controversy and concern.
Since the rise of online dating, focusing on someone's physicality, like appearance and size, has become a major factor in determining who deserves a match. Tinder helped accelerate this trend thanks to its user interface. This focuses on looking at people's photos. Other Tinder users often respond quickly to those photos with a left or right swipe and show interest.
In addition to revealing people's preferences for the popularity of traditional, attractive dating apps, it has led to a culture where bias against tall men has become the norm. For example, even if women are just looking for a match of at least 6 feet and are more flexible about this requirement in real life, it's not uncommon to come across profiles that say they're looking for a match of at least 6 feet.
Tinder has enjoyed this trend over the past few years, like when it announced April Fool's Day that it would introduce a “height verification” feature in its app. (Many men didn't find this particular joke funny.) Height bias was also the subject of other parody, as was the case with designer Soren Iverson when he imagined a version of Tinder that allowed men to override the height requirements for a fee.
The company may hope that by adding height settings, more women will encourage app use and pay. This tends to be more dominated by men both in the US and internationally.
The launch of the test was revealed to have dropped by 5% in paying users following recent revenue from Tinder Parent Match. Paid subscribers for Match's dating apps fell in the first quarter from 14.9 million users a quarter ago. The company is in the middle of another CEO's transition, with Match CEO Spencer Rascoff set to run Tinder later this summer.