As these companies were taking away Tinder’s audience, the company responded by launching various features to target those people but failed to alter its image significantly. Most of their successful launches have been about adding new monetization layers and elements.
Sean Rad and Justin Mateen had known each other from the age of 14. Both come from Jewish-Iranian families in the Los Angeles area, and both attended the University of Southern California and became online entrepreneurs at the same time. Rad has said the impetus for Tinder’s creation was his observation that “no matter who you are, you feel more comfortable approaching somebody if you know they want you to approach them.” He believed a “double opt-in” system could be created to alleviate the stress of meeting new people. Rad has also said Tinder filled a gap in social platforms’ availability for meeting strangers, rather than connecting with people a user already knows.
“From the beginning, I had a nagging desire to gamify it,” says Chief Strategy Officer and Tinder co-founder Jonathan Badeen, in a December live chat on discovery platform ProductHunt.
According to their reports, 85% of its users are between 18 and 34, meaning Tinder has become the preferred dating app of millennials. In 2016, Tinder’s CEO said the company was working to make the dating service better for transgender users, but it didn’t significantly affect the composition of its users. [link]
Initially, the founders of Tinders marketed to a small and specific group of people on college campuses, probably the most active and relevant audience who then carried the app and at least the concept throughout their lives.
Tinder is probably the most known dating app, which contributed to many of the mechanics and revenue channels we associate with the industry.
“From the beginning, I had a nagging desire to gamify it,” says Chief Strategy Officer and Tinder co-founder Jonathan Badeen, in a December live chat on discovery platform ProductHunt.”
In 2017, Tinder launched its web-version and a Feed feature to provide updates on your matches, making itself closer to a social network
In 2013, Tinder introduced Matchmaker feature that lets you choose two folks from your Facebook friends list and consequently introduce them via a Facebook message.
In 2015, Tinder introduced the ability to go back to rejected profiles via a “rewinding” function, allowing users to correct mistaken actions. It also tried to utilize ads to drive its revenue.
Tinder became the first “swipe app,” a now-common term for various apps that utilize left or right swiping gestures to control what content the user sees when browsing, after switching from its original icon-based functionality following inspiration co-founder Jonathan Badeen had while wiping off a foggy mirror in his bathroom
In , Tinder released the Super Like feature worldwide. This allows non-paying users to Super Like one profile every 24 hours for free.
Tinder began testing its Boost functionality in in Australia. The feature went live for all users worldwide in . Boost allows users to make their profile the most visible profile in their area for thirty minutes, showing such profiles first to other nearby users.
In , Tinder launched Tinder Gold, a members-only service, offering their most exclusive features: Passport, Rewind, Unlimited Likes, five Super Likes per day, one Boost per month, and more profile controls. This is an optional service offered to Tinder Plus users that costs an additional fee as a paid subscription.
In 2018, Tinder took the core Bumble features, allowing women to sparky-promotiecodes message first only. The new option allowed women to choose when to start a conversation, but it will not be the default setting as it is in Bumble.