Tinder

Probably the dating app most synonymous with the term, Tinder is a household name. Launched in 2012 by Sean Rad, Justin Mateen, Jonathan Badeen, Joe Munoz, Whitney Wolfe Herd, and Chris Gylczynski before merging with Match Group in 2017, Tinder put swiping on the map. Here's everything you need to know about the app Tinder says 50 million people use each month.

Meet Our Experts

Rachel Thompson, sits wearing a dress with yellow florals and black background.

Rachel Thompson

Features Editor

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.

anna iovine, a white woman with curly chin-length brown hair, smiles at the camera

Associate Editor, Features

Anna Iovine is the associate editor of features at Mashable. Previously, as the sex and relationships reporter, she covered topics ranging from dating apps to pelvic pain. Before Mashable, Anna was a social editor at VICE and freelanced for publications such as Slate and the Columbia Journalism Review. Follow her on Bluesky.

Chance Townsend

Assistant Editor, General Assignments

Chance Townsend is the General Assignments Editor at Mashable, covering tech, video games, dating apps, digital culture, and whatever else comes his way. He has a Master's in Journalism from the University of North Texas and is a proud orange cat father. His writing has also appeared in PC Mag and Mother Jones.

In his free time, he cooks, loves to sleep, and greatly enjoys Detroit sports. If you have any tips or want to talk shop about the Lions, you can reach out to him on Bluesky @offbrandchance.bsky.social or by email at [email protected].

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Freelance Writer

Tabitha Britt is an award-winning freelance journalist, editor, and SEO/AEO strategist. Aside from reviewing dating apps and sex toys for Mashable, Tabitha is also the founding editor-in-chief of DO YOU ENDO — a digital magazine by individuals with endometriosis, for individuals with endometriosis. She has a Master's degree in Creative Publishing and Critical Journalism from The New School for Social Research and is a grad of Sextech School. You can find more of her work in various online publications, including National Geographic, Glamour, Better Homes & Gardens, and Everyday Health.

More Tinder - Page 10

Genius figures out how to use a fidget spinner to conquer Tinder

Swiping right has never been so trendy.

05/24/2017

By Cassie Murdoch

No ghosts allowed: An elite dating app makes you mind your manners

It's a very polite club IF you can get in.

05/19/2017

By Cassie Murdoch

Sit back and enjoy watching this smooth guy's Tinder game backfire

Things really took a turn.

05/12/2017

By Sam Speedy

Want to find a date? Here's where Tinder says you should work.

Everyone wants to find love at 40,000 feet.

05/09/2017

By Jerico Mandybur

Aziz Ansari shares his best Tinder pick-up line and it's very effective

Words to live by.

05/01/2017

By Rachel Thompson

Aziz Ansari shares his best Tinder pick-up line and it's very effective

Aziz Ansari shares his best Tinder pick-up line and it's very effective

Inside the exclusive, stealthy club where future tech moguls are born

The Kairos Society is the most influential tech club you've never heard of.

04/26/2017

By Karissa Bell

Inside the exclusive, stealthy club where future tech moguls are born

Inside the exclusive, stealthy club where future tech moguls are born

Tinder wants you to swipe right on this rhino to help save his species

He's "the most eligible bachelor in the world."

04/25/2017

By Katie Dupere

Confessions of a dating app voyeur

You can't get back together with a missed connection.

04/24/2017

By Brett Williams

Tinder really, really wants you to think you’re swiping around for lasting love

There's new data showing that -- surprise! -- the app's users are not a bunch of sex-addicted commitment-phobes.

04/20/2017

By Cassie Murdoch

Do you use dating apps at your desk? You're not alone.

Would you rather be busy or get busy?

04/04/2017

By Cassie Murdoch

Do you use dating apps at your desk? You're not alone.

Do you use dating apps at your desk? You're not alone.

The way college kids are using Tinder may surprise you

Kids these days are a lot more old-fashioned than you'd think.

03/28/2017

By Cassie Murdoch

The way college kids are using Tinder may surprise you

The way college kids are using Tinder may surprise you

Tinder is finally available on the web — but only in these countries

Tinder is breaking free of its app.

03/28/2017

By Karissa Bell

Tinder scammers fool 30 men into sending money over

They created fake Tinder profiles with pictures of women they found on Facebook.

03/28/2017

By Yi Shu Ng

Girl uses Tinder to make money and you'll wish you thought of it first

A new scammer has hit the internet.

03/27/2017

By Sam Speedy

NBA road teams are winning more because of dating apps. No, really.

Why bother with the club?

03/23/2017

By Sam Laird

NBA road teams are winning more because of dating apps. No, really.

NBA road teams are winning more because of dating apps. No, really.

Tinder is down and the app's most desperate singles are freaking out

Swiped out of commission.

03/13/2017

By Sasha Lekach

Tinder is down and the app's most desperate singles are freaking out

Tinder is down and the app's most desperate singles are freaking out

Tinder's new gender options have led to matches for 250,000 trans people

The app's push to be more inclusive is working.

03/13/2017

By Cassie Murdoch

Tinder's new gender options have led to matches for 250,000 trans people

Tinder's new gender options have led to matches for 250,000 trans people

'Buffy' is the only show that prepared us for the Hellmouth of Tinder

Happy 20th, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"

03/10/2017

By Tricia Gilbride

Did WikiLeaks just do Apple and Google a huge favor?

The CIA sure has some silly names for its hacking tools.

03/10/2017

By Pete Pachal

Tinder offers $100 donations in honor of Women's Day

You don't even have to swipe to support your favorite charity.

03/08/2017

By Cassie Murdoch

Tinder is testing a secret version of the app for the rich, famous and hot

Think you know everything about Tinder? Guess again.

03/08/2017

By Karissa Bell

Shut it down: Jesus is on Tinder now

Swipe right if you believe in love.

03/07/2017

By Cassie Murdoch

Here's what happens when you tell Tinder matches your dad just died

"That sucks."

03/03/2017

By Rachel Thompson

Here's what happens when you tell Tinder matches your dad just died

Here's what happens when you tell Tinder matches your dad just died

Tinder bans racist, sexist bro for life on National Pig Day

No racist, sexist boys allowed.

03/03/2017

By Jerico Mandybur

Tinder bans racist, sexist bro for life on National Pig Day

Tinder bans racist, sexist bro for life on National Pig Day

These are the online dating emoji your love life desperately needs

Now you can say "Netflix and chill" in style.

02/28/2017

By Rachel Thompson