Tinder to let women decide who they want to message
What's the story
Dating app Tinder is set to introduce a new feature on its platform that will allow only female users to text their matches first. Through this, women will be able to choose who they want to actually have a conversation with and only message those people. The update aims at avoiding unsolicited messages that women often receive once they land a match on Tinder.
Tackling Competition
The feature is already available on rival dating app Bumble
Notably, the update is being seen as a means to compete with rival dating app Bumble. The women-centric app also incorporates this setting, albeit in a default mode. Whereas on Tinder, this option to let women pick when they want to start a conversation will not be a default setting. It's reported that with over 26 million users, Bumble is fast entering Tinder's territory.
Quote
It is important to provide women with this choice
"Often, women don't really want the pressure of kicking off the conversation, but if they want it, that is great. Giving people the choice versus telling people how to engage is a big difference," Mandy Ginsberg, CEO of Tinder's parent company Match Group, said.
Context
Tinder boasts of over three million paid subscribers
Currently, Tinder is the unrivaled market leader in the online dating app segment with over a 100 million downloads and over three million paid subscribers. So far, both men and women can make the first move after a mutual match has been established. But once the 'Ladies First' feature starts rolling out, women will have a definite upper hand while picking potential dates.