Tinder, Hinge, and other US-based dating apps are encouraging its users to get vaccinated, just in case the health benefits were not reason enough to get shots. New features will range from badges for users to show their vaccination status, free premium features for vaccinated users, and links to vaccinations resources like Vaccines.gov website.
The apps taking part in the vaccination scheme includes Tinder, Hinge, Match, OKCupid, BLK, Chispa, and Plenty of Fish services, as well as Bumble and Badoo.
Tinder and Other Dating Apps New Scheme
The aim of the vaccination scheme is to encourage users of dating apps to get vaccinated, with the implied promise of more matches, thus leading to more dates.
The announcement cites research from OKCupid suggesting that people who either are, or plan to be, vaccinated get 14% more matches. Some dating apps will even let users filter matches by vaccination status.
Specific features will depend on the app.
Tinder is giving out free premium features to vaccinated users, such as adding pro-vaccine profile stickers, and incorporating links to vaccination resources, The Verge reported.
Bumble and Badoo will offer the same vaccine profile badges, added with complimentary premium credits to vaccinated users. Hinge is also giving out normally paid-for features, and is encouraging users to share their vaccination status on their dating profiles.
What is unclear at the moment is how the apps plan to verify that users who claim to be vaccinated have actually receive a shot. A lot of the apps, like Tinder, already offer verification features, so theoretically they already have systems in place to verify similar information.
The vaccine tracker from The New York Times reports that 48% of people in the United States have received at least one dose of the vaccine already, while 38% are now fully vaccinated.
The Biden administration has set a target of getting at least 70% of adults in the country to be fully vaccinated before July 4.
Increase in Subscribers
According to News18, more than 60% of dating app users did not want to date anti-vaxxers. Chief executive Shar Dubey said that as the country is headed into summer, with a growing number of people getting vaccinated, the public are excited to talk again in-person.
Match Group, a company that includes Tinder and Hinge, saw an increase in their shares of more than 6% in after-hours trading.
The revenues of the company in the first three months of the year of just under $668 million, is 23% higher than in the same period in 2020 and a net profit of $174 million, which is an increase from a $203 million loss a year ago.
On average, Match Group had 11.1 million subscribers in the quarter, which is an increase from 9.9 million subscribers in 2020.
The company also saw subscription numbers take a hit early on in the pandemic, recovering in the summer, then falling away again as case numbers increased and new lockdowns took hold.
Match Group saw a seasonal spike in sign-ups this year, and levels began to normalize as vaccinations were rolled out, even as some countries are still experiencing a third wave of cases.
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Written by Sophie Webster
