Tinder has said that it plans to introduce a video chat feature to its app in what would be one of the biggest updates ever made to its platform. The announcement was made as part of Match Group’s latest earnings report. Match Group also owns dating services Match.com, Hinge, OK Cupid and Plenty of Fish, among others.
The app became a household name by pioneering the app-based dating but has not added many features since its debut in 2012.
“Tinder clearly remains a go-to app for meeting new people, which has become an even more critical service with so many people stuck at home, and Tinder plans to launch one-to-one live video late in Q2,” said the earnings report.
The move is in response to the coronavirus pandemic and how it means people who meet on Tinder can no longer easily or safely meet up for a date. The report notes that ” At Tinder, daily active users (DAU) and daily Swipes™ reached all-time highs in the depths of the crisis,” spurring the company to move to video to help people actually have a date after using the platform to meet.
The introduction of video chats helps bridge this problem, but it will likely change the way people approach swiping. There’s also the issue of people inevitably abusing the new feature, and Tinder will be worried that indecent videos will be part of the launch in behaviour akin to what was found on Chatroulette.
At the time of writing, Match Group could only confirm that it plans to roll out the feature this year and had not been more specific.
Author: Henry Burrell, Phones Editor
Henry is Tech Advisor’s Phones Editor, ensuring he and the team covers and reviews every smartphone worth knowing about for readers and viewers all over the world. He spends a lot of time moving between different handsets and shouting at WhatsApp to support multiple devices at once.