One tenet of the social world that has yet to be rocked by the mobile phone is dating. While there are many mobile-focused services to connect people romantically or otherwise, it still seems that the heavy, serious stuff must be done behind a laptop.
Tinder is a mobile-first app that has been available for iPhone since last year, and has managed to peak some 100 million matches in areas all over the world. The app has now come to Android, and should help Canadian singles play the hot-or-not game just in time for summer (well, a bit later than that).
Tinder works quite simply (and superficially): a user is shown a series of profile photos of prospective singles in his or her area. The heart button indicates that this person is attractive and desirable, the perfect person to chat with. If both users end up tapping that same heart (as opposed to a big red ‘X’) a match is made and the chatting can begin.
The app is less about dating than making connections — the venture-backed company wants to be about more than just that one dreaded word — and is attempting to be a social network where men and women can meet, safely, through their phones.
The Android version doesn’t deviate too far from the iOS model, and is missing some features, like profile editing, that iPhone users take for granted. The company wanted to release the Android version as quickly as possible, and will be quickly iterating on it to ensure a stable experience going forward.
Though it resembles Snapchat for the dating generation, Tinder is sure to find continued success, as it makes the barrier to meeting people — safely, as location is not shared — easy and fun.
Download Tinder for Android.
Via: Techcrunch
