Tinder is ready to help users find perfect matches with a new feature called Tinder Places. The function would access users' favorite locations.
Introducing Tinder Places
The social media app revealed the new function on May 23. The app users will track every move, including visiting coffee shops, restaurants, and bars. Company leaders hope that users would be able to meet new people through their favorite venues.
Users will have to tap a pin at the top of their Discovery screen to access the feature. By tapping "Turn Places On," they will be able to find others who enjoy the same places. Once users find potential people, they can start the messaging process.
Addressing Privacy Issues
In its official blog post, Tinder discussed potential privacy issues that could cause concerns. It reassured users that they can easily opt out of Tinder Places. In addition, the social media app stated that Tinder will automatically remove the users from locations once they leave. The company also reassured that Tinder Places is for social venues only.
Users may keep their favorite locations a secret. Also, customers have the option of not allowing Tinder Places announce that they are there. Tinder Places will only show potential matches. Several company leaders believe that the feature has plenty of safeguards in place to make users feel comfortable and not worry about stalkers.
"As a female who designed this feature, I personally made sure that I would feel safe using it," said Samantha Stevens, Tinder's director of location products, to TechCrunch.
Currently, Tinder Places is available in Sydney and Brisbane in Australia and in Santiago, Chile. The company has not announced when the feature will be available worldwide. Tinder also worked with both Foursquare and Mapbox on this new addition to the app.
Tinder Tales
Researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology found that Tinder users are open to more short-term sex than people who do not use the app. Researchers looked at the social media activity and sexual behavior of 600 students ages 19 to 29. The study found that those participants who accepted and were open to casual sex were more inclined to use mobile dating apps.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg threw shade at Tinder during the 2018 F8 Developers Conference. He announced that the social media company would create a dating service that would focus on building long-term romantic relationships. He also accused Tinder and rival OKCupid of promoting a dating culture that is more accepting of short-term bonds.
Tinder tested out a video feature for its iOS users in Sweden and Canada. They allowed these users to create 6-second short looping videos. While the concept was introduced in the now-defunct Vine, the dating app hoped that its users would use the video function to create videos to make an impression on potential love interests. To access the feature, they had to tap a button that stated "Add Media" to create a video.
Tech Times reached out to Tinder for a comment on this story.
