Tinder has just become the App Store's top-grossing app, making it, for the first time ever, the app that's raking in the most cash right now.
This is a big success for the enormously popular dating app, which has tried various types of revenue models in the past. It finally figured out what will make people pay for a subscription: the ability to see which users liked you without needing to like them first.
Before Tinder Gold, the company experimented with other revenue-generating features such as "Super Like," which marks your profile with a blue star for the person who mutually likes you; and "Tinder Boost," which gives your profile a boost among the stacks of profiles for extra discoverability.
For months, Tinder had been testing this "Who Likes Me?" feature as part of the Tinder Gold tier in certain markets before releasing it this week for U.S. users. The app promptly rose to the number 1 spot in the App Store's list of top grossers in just one day, as TechCrunch reports.
What Is Tinder Gold Exactly?
For those who don't know, Tinder Gold is actually an optional $4.99 upgrade on top of Tinder Plus's $9.99 monthly subscription tier. So essentially, to get Tinder Gold, you need to spend $14.99 monthly.
Described by Tinder as a "first-class swipe experience," Tinder Gold is a members-only service that offers the "most exclusive" features. It gives users five Super Likes per day and one Boost per month, as mentioned above, alongside extras such as Passport, which allows you to cheat your current location; and Rewind, which lets you undo a previous swipe.
Tinder Gold For Android
The Tinder Gold subscription tier will become available to Android users next month, according to the company.
It's hard to measure whether it's worth paying $14.99 a month just to get ahead in the world of virtual intimacy. But if the App Store is any indication, then we'd say Tinder is doing just fine and will probably do fine in the future.
If you haven't guessed by now, the real story here is that online dating in the modern world is hard. Sure, you can stick with Tinder's free service, but in a world of superficiality where rejection is handed down as fast as a swipe, $14.99 is perhaps a small price to pay for some people.
Are you subscribed to tinder Plus — and Tinder Gold? As always, feel free to sound off in the comments section below!
