When you think of online dating, you probably think of Tinder. Like “to Google” has come to mean “to internet search,” Tinder has essentially become synonymous with dating apps. Why would you specify where you met someone when you could just say “Oh, Tinder.” I remember when people were embarrassed about meeting people on Tinder, but honestly, it’s become an expectation… it’s more surprising if you meet someone in real life as opposed to online.
But, how is Tinder standing up against the rest? It’s no longer the only app out there for casual dating, and it’s got some serious competition. I redownloaded Tinder after a lengthy hiatus from online dating to assess how it’s doing! And here are my finding thus far:
First Impressions
My first impression is that Tinder looks like Tinder! I mean a ton has changed over the years, but it’s still recognizably Tinder. The interface is easy to use and sleek – which is what you expect from a tech company. The color scheme is cute with their pink/orangeish accents. It’s definitely a very dating app of them to use those colors.
Everything feels slightly upgraded, but it still feels like Tinder!
Features
Tinder has gone through a lot of changes. Remember how they went through that phase of having things like stories? Well, thank god those are long gone. Tinder has returned to a fairly simple layout. When you open that bad boy up you’re met with the match page where you can swipe through the eligible singles in your area.
When you go to the page to the right, you’ll find all your matches and your messages. There are two tabs across the top, one of which is the “feed” which shows all the changes your matches have since added to their profile. From there you can send them a message. The page on the left is where you’ll find your profile and preferences. This is where you can upgrade from or deactivate your account.
You’ve got all the usual stuff like the red dislike and green like button as well as the super-like. Unfortunately, if you accidentally swipe past a cutie, you’re going to have to upgrade to get them back! Because they no longer sell rewinds independent of their premium membership.
Pricing and membership details
Their membership is pretty pricey, but it’s not nearly as expensive as some dating apps. Some of them require you to pay even to get access to the community of people signed up! Tinder functions pretty well without upgrades, but they do have Tinder Gold which is their premium upgrade. It’s changed names over the years, but this is the one they’ve settled on for the time being.
You can either pay for one month at a time which will come to around $15.99 or you can commit to six or twelve months for a discounted rate. With Tinder Gold you get quite a few perks: You get unlimited rewinds, you can see who already likes you, you can swipe around the world, you can control who sees your age and distance, you can control who can even match with you, you get one boost (which means you’ll be shown to more people) a month, you’ll get unlimited likes, you’ll get five super likes a day, and you’ll eliminate ads.
This is a ton of stuff for a membership! But you’re going to have to buy in bulk to get it down to around $7 dollars a month.
Pros
Desktop site!: One thing that a lot of dating apps haven’t done is make a desktop compatible app or site. Tinder is leading the charge (per usual) and has created a desktop site. This is great for people who don’t always have access to their phones or who want to do some swiping while multitasking on their computers. It also makes chatting infinitely easier.
I’m a fan of the desktop app except for the controls. Sure, you can click around, but you can also use your keyboard to control everything. This makes it feel like a game – which can be a good and a bad thing – but for me, it was difficult to get the controls down, and I accidentally liked a few guys I’d never touch with a 10-foot pole.
Add gifs to your page: I wish that more sites did this! With the popularity of boomerang, why shouldn’t you be allowed to add gifs or looping videos to your dating app? Not only are they cute and give you the opportunity to show off your personality, but they’re also eye-catching! Someone is more likely to disrupt their swiping to see a cute gif than a picture of you and your dog.
Conversation starters via feed: At first, I thought that the advent of the feed was a pathetic attempt at saving the story feature… except they totally proved me wrong. Instead, of trying to make Tinder the next Snapchat they used the new Feed page as a way to conversation starters. This allows you to see what your matches have been adding which might help you spark conversation!
Cons
No one talks! While the feed is an obvious attempt at saving conversations before they even start, Tinder still has a huge problem with people not talking. I’m not sure why, but people use Tinder as more of a way to boost their ego via matches than they do an actual dating or hook up site.
Honestly, I like Tinder’s interface more than a lot of the new dating apps that have popped up over the past couple of years. But I find myself using the other ones more because people are more likely to start a conversation on literally any other app. Why? I’m not sure. But Tinder still has a problem with silent matches.
Conclusion
Overall, Tinder will always be an old favorite. They’ve done a lot lately to boost their presence and keep themselves up there as one of the top dating apps of all time. However, I think they have some serious competition from Bumble and Hinge! I think that if you’re willing to do some serious conversation maintenance then Tinder is your place!
4/5 Stars