Tinder's new feature may shake up your social life a little too much
LONDON -- When it comes to hanging out with friends, Tinder's probably the last place you'd think to look.
But now, the hugely popular dating app doesn't just want to hook you up with a new partner, it wants to sort out your social life too.
The app's new feature Tinder Social -- which launched Thursday in the U.S., UK and India -- enables you to create groups, meet new potential pals and plan group activities with friends and strangers.
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How does it work?
To use the feature, you'll need to update to the latest version of Tinder. A tab will appear asking you if you'd like to unlock Tinder Social, but you can also head over to your settings tab to turn on the feature.
If you want to go out, then Tinder will ask you to invite one of your "friends on Tinder Social" from a selection of your Facebook friends who may or may not be on Tinder.
Once you invite one of your existing friends, you can then begin swiping left or right on groups and individuals looking to go out.
The feature test-launched in Australia in April this year, and users set up pub crawls and organised group outings to concerts. However, the feature soon came under fire over concerns about privacy, particularly as it appeared to expose Tinder users to their Facebook friends.
"Users must unlock Tinder Social by opting into the feature. If a user opts in, Tinder will display a list of Facebook friends (who have also unlocked Tinder Social) to choose from to add to their group," a spokesperson for Tinder told Mashable when questioned about this feature.
In other words, if you want to use the feature, you should make sure you're 100% OK with your Facebook friends knowing you use the app.
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While this might not sound like much of a problem to people who are open about their use of dating apps, it could pose a problem for people who are looking to keep their use of the app on the down-low.
Similarly it could out cheating partners, or reveal your Tinder usage to ex partners, family members, colleagues and Facebook friends with whom you're not in regular contact.
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Nonetheless, if you're looking to make new friends or hang out with existing friends, this feature could dramatically shake up your social life.
Get swiping, people.
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Topics Tinder
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.
