Tinder finally rolls out video dating to global users

Dating right now requires a bit of thinking outside the box.

In this time of ongoing social distancing, Tinder is rolling out Face to Face — its 1:1 video in-app feature — to users around the world.

From Oct. 27, Tinder swipers around the world will be able to go on virtual dates with matches without needing to exchange any personal details.

In July, Tinder began testing in-app video calls in some areas several months after social distancing began. Even in July, Tinder was late to the video dating game, after Hinge and several other dating apps introduced video chat features in the early days of the pandemic.

While the company hasn't directly spoken to why the feature is rolling out many months into the coronavirus pandemic, a Tinder rep said that the app is "really proud of the thoughtfulness of the feature" and that it "echoes the double opt-in that Tinder pioneered, and brings it to a new level."

Better late than never, though.

The new feature was developed by the Tinder Trust and Safety team and has a number of safety protections. Here's what you need to know about Tinder's Face to Face.

You'll only be able to video call if you BOTH want to. Once you've matched and started chatting, you can tap the video icon once you feel comfortable to move the chat to video. The feature won't be unlocked until both of you have toggled the icon. It doesn't notify your match when you tap the video icon and you can also untoggle the icon and disable video chat whenever you like. So if you don't feel like video chatting one day, simply untoggle the video icon.

Credit: tinder

Callers must agree to ground rules (like terms and conditions) before starting the call.

Once the call has ended, users will be asked how it went. You can send a report to the Tinder team any time after the call ends — and your response will not be shared with the other person.

Credit: tinder

"We’re excited to share that our Face to Face feature is rolling out to our global community after receiving positive feedback from our members who have had early access to it," said Rory Kozoll, head of trust and safety product at Tinder in a statement.

"This adds to our growing list of features built focused on member safety throughout their dating journey, like Photo Verification, Safety Center, and our offensive message detection technology."

Happy video dating...