Tinder is no longer just a platform for dating alone. The company has announced the launch of a new “Double Date” feature in the United States, which will allow you to invite a friend to find and connect with another couple.
This feature is implemented as a new “Double Date” icon in the top right corner of the app, where you can invite up to three friends to pair up with them. Both of you can scroll through a feed of paired profiles that appear side by side with photos and descriptions. A match is created when one person from both pairs swipes to the right. Tinder then opens a group chat with all four users.
The update should help Tinder gain an edge over its competitors as the dating app industry continues to experience a downturn. It will also allow Tinder to compete directly with platforms built for double dates, such as Double and Fourplay.
Cleo Long, Tinder’s head of product marketing, told The Verge that the platform has been testing the feature in Europe for “a few months now,” adding that it is designed to help relieve dating pressure, especially among younger users. “It’s a social experience that’s really designed to help take some of the pressure off that we know a lot of Gen Zers feel about dating by making it more social, more fun, and bringing in your friends to enhance that comfort element,” Long said.
Double Dates builds on some of the other social features that Tinder has launched in recent years, including a feature that allows you to share details of your dates with other people, as well as a way for friends or family members to find a match for you.
Tinder plans to launch Double Dates globally in July.
