Tinder (application)

Tinder
Developer(s) Tinder, Inc
Initial release September 12, 2012
Development status Active
Operating system Apple iOS, Android
Type Social networking
Website www.gotinder.com

Tinder is a location-based social discovery app that facilitates communication between mutually interested users.[1][2] It is used for dating as well as other kinds of networking.

History

Tinder was founded by Sean Rad, Justin Mateen and Jonathan Badeen.

It first launched at a University of Southern California party, and expanded to other college campuses.

Tinder won TechCrunch's Crunchie Award for "Best New Startup of 2013".[3]

Features

Tinder uses Facebook profiles to gather basic information and analyze users' social graph, which then matches candidates who are most likely to be compatible based on geographical location, number of mutual friends, and common interests.

Based on the results of potential candidates, the app allows the user to anonymously like another user by swiping right or pass by swiping left on them. If two users like each other it then results in a "match” and they are enabled to chat within the app.

In a June 2014 update, Tinder added “Moments”, an ephemeral photo feature. Tinder also added editing capabilities to the photos, enabling users to draw on the photos and add filters.[4]

Users

Tinder is used widely throughout the world and is available in 30 languages. Tinder has achieved as much as 10% usage by population in some locations. On average users are spending over 1 hour per day on the app.

As of April 2015, Tinder users swipe through 1.6 billion Tinder profiles and make more than 26 million matches per day. More than 6 billion matches have been made since Tinder launched in 2012.[5]

Controversies

Fake profiles have been created on Tinder. In July 2014, online security firm Symantec warned that Tinder is suffering from a number of different spam campaigns using fake profiles.[6]

Two days after Patrick's attack was made public, a British hacker named catfi.sh revealed he had carried out a similar attack but on a far larger scale.[7][8] Particularly interesting or funny interactions were posted on the hacker's website after having personally identifiable details removed.

In February 2014, security researchers in New York found a flaw which made it possible to find users' precise locations for between 40 and 165 days, without any public notice from the company. Tinder's spokesperson, Rosette Pambakian, said the issue was resolved within 48 hours. Chief Executive Officer Sean Rad said in a statement that Tinder implemented specific measures to enhance location security and further obscure location data shortly after being contacted, and that users' privacy and security continue to be the highest priority.[9]

In March 2015, Tinder announced the public release of their paid service, Tinder Plus, which has been met with controversy over limiting the number of "likes" a free user can give to other users in a certain amount of time and also charging prices for different age groups. The price of a Tinder Plus subscription was announced to be £14.99/$19.99 USD per month for users over 28, while the same service for a user 28 and under will be £3.99/$9.99 USD per month.[10] A month after implementing these changes, TechCrunch reported that, no matter the consumer impression, Tinder's 'Swipe Right Limit Is Working.'[11]

Lawsuits

On June 30, 2014, former VP of marketing Whitney Wolfe filed a sexual harassment and sex discrimination suit in Los Angeles County Superior Court against IAC-controlled Match group, which owns Tinder. The lawsuit alleged that her fellow executives and co-founders Sean Rad and Justin Mateen had engaged in discrimination, sexual harassment, and retaliation against her, while Tinder's corporate supervisor, IAC's Sam Yagan, did nothing.[12] IAC suspended CMO Justin Mateen from his position pending an ongoing investigation, and stated that it "acknowledges that Mateen sent private messages containing 'inappropriate content', but it believes Mateen, Rad and the company are innocent of the allegations". The case was later dropped with no admission of wrongdoing by either party.[13]

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffbercovici/2014/06/17/the-new-hot-or-not-like-tinder-but-just-for-fun/
  2. ↑ http://allthingsd.com/20130315/with-new-social-app-swoon-people-discovery-is-a-thumb-flick-away/
  3. ↑ TechCrunch. "Tinder Wins Best New Startup of 2013". TechCrunch. Retrieved March 26, 2014.
  4. ↑ "With Moments, Tinder, Too, Decides Photos Shouldn’t Always Last Forever". TechCrunch.
  5. ↑ http://mashable.com/2015/04/15/coachella-tinder-usage-sky-rockets/
  6. ↑ "Tinder Spam: A Year Later, Spammers Still Flirting with Mobile Dating App". Symantec Security Response. July 15, 2014.
  7. ↑ Michael Zelenko (27 March 2015). "Thousands more men have been duped by an international Tinder hack". www.theverge.com. The Verge. Archived from the original on 6 April 2015. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  8. ↑ Jeff Parsons (31 March 2015). "'Catfish' Tinder hacker tricks THOUSANDS of unwitting men into flirting with each other through the dating app - Mirror Online". www.mirror.co.uk. The Mirror. Archived from the original on 6 April 2015. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  9. ↑ Nick Summers. "New Tinder Security Flaw Exposed Users' Exact Locations for Months". Businessweek.com.
  10. ↑ http://uk.businessinsider.com/tinder-launched-its-paid-subscription-service-today
  11. ↑ http://techcrunch.com/2015/03/12/hate-it-or-love-it-tinders-right-swipe-limit-is-working/#.39rspz:IBnY
  12. ↑ "The Truth About Tinder and Women Is Even Worse Than You Think". Bloomberg BusinessWeek. July 2, 2014. Retrieved July 10, 2014.
  13. ↑ Jeff Bercovici (July 1, 2014). "IAC Suspends Tinder Co-Founder After Sex Harassment Lawsuit". Forbes.

External links