Tinder is making its 'Orientation' feature global and you can list up to 3
Tinder is making its Orientation feature global after debuting it one year ago.
The dating app's feature lets swipers list up to three of nine sexual orientations in their Tinder profiles.
Users can identify as three of the following: straight, gay, lesbian, bisexual, asexual, demisexual, pansexual, queer, and questioning.
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Since launching a year ago in the US, UK, India, Canada, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand in partnership with GLAAD, 62 percent of swipers have set an orientation, and one in five matches made identify as queer.
"At Tinder, we believe everyone deserves to feel seen, which starts with the ability to authentically be yourself. That’s why we introduced both the Orientation and More Genders features,” Elie Seidman, CEO of Tinder, said in a statement.
Gen Z users (aged 18 to 25) were 20 percent more likely than millennials and Gen X to choose more than one orientation, per Tinder figures. Identifying as "questioning and straight" is a rising orientation listing among this demographic.
"Our younger members, Gen Z, are leading the way to a more inclusive world and we know that with our scale, we can help make a difference with our product. We can’t wait to release these features to more people around the world," the statement continued.
Tinder also plans to expand its More Genders features on a global scale in the next few months. This feature — which launched in 2016, again, in partnership with GLAAD — allows members to identify from over 30+ genders.
The feature expansion comes after Tinder launched its Traveler Alert last year, which aimed to protect and inform LGBTQ swipers about the risks of using dating apps in the 70 countries where the law effectively criminalises LGBTQ status.
The Orientation and More Genders features will be available everywhere "excluding markets where there are state-sponsored sexual orientation laws," according to Tinder's press release.
Rachel Thompson is the Features Editor at Mashable. Rachel's second non-fiction book The Love Fix: Reclaiming Intimacy in a Disconnected World is out now, published by Penguin Random House in Jan. 2025. The Love Fix explores why dating feels so hard right now, why we experience difficult emotions in the realm of love, and how we can change our dating culture for the better.
A leading sex and dating writer in the UK, Rachel has written for GQ, The Guardian, The Sunday Times Style, The Telegraph, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Stylist, ELLE, The i Paper, Refinery29, and many more.
Rachel's first book Rough: How Violence Has Found Its Way Into the Bedroom And What We Can Do About It, a non-fiction investigation into sexual violence was published by Penguin Random House in 2021.