In push for more users, Tinder is offering offline events

Tinder is attempting to woo Gen Z users with in-person events and new features as the number of people who pay for and regularly use the service has dropped.

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SPENCER RASCOFF, shown in May, leads Tinder and its owner, Match Group.

(DiA DIPASUPIL Getty Images)

In the third quarter, Tinder had 9.2 million paying users, a 7% decline from the same period last year. Tinder’s revenue dropped 3% to $491 million. The app has a free version, but people pay for extra features, including the ability to see who likes their profile or to temporarily increase their profile’s visibility so they can get more matches.

Although it is still the world’s most popular dating app, it has lost users recently in major markets. Its monthly active user tally in the U.S. is around Il million this quarter, down from 18 million in early 2022, according to market intelligence firm Sensor Tower.

The company has a new leadership team — including Chief Executive Spencer Rascoff, who started in July —that is betting the app can find its second wind by developing new features. Rascoff is also the CEO of Tinder’s parent company, Match Group.

Some of Tinder’s new features include double date and college mode, in which students can meet others at their university or nearby colleges. The company is testing a new Al-powered feature called “Chemistry,” in which people give Tinder permission to analyze their camera roll to learn more about their interests and personality. It started requiring that users in several countries take video selfies to verify that they're real and match their profile pictures.

“Dating has become this thing that, for many people, has felt like work and meeting people really needs to be fun,” Kantor said.

Launched in 2012 at USC, Tinder changed the way people date by making it simple to browse through dating profiles filled with photos on their smartphones and match with people nearby.

Company co-founder Sean Rad, a USC dropout, presented the idea for a dating app, originally called Matchbox, at a startup incubator’s hackathon.