Tinder helped popularize a modern dating culture that puts looks first, and now the app is trying out a new way to capitalize on it. As part of a test, select Tinder Gold and Tinder Platinum subscribers will be able to set a preferred height range for matches they receive in the app, according to TechCrunch. The feature was first spotted by a Reddit user who noticed the option in the app’s “Discovery Settings.”
Deciding that you prefer matches who are 5’10” and up won’t necessarily weed out the short kings in your area, but it will influence the recommendations the app offers as you swipe. Tinder has long included ways to spell out your preferences in your profile, and plenty of people go further in their bio, signaling that they only swipe right on people with specific features or interests. Making height preference part of the official settings just formalizes things.
Given how dating apps are already associated with superficiality, though, this feature seems intended to be a bit provocative. It could also reflect how Tinder is approaching its paid subscriptions going forward: not just as a way to increase the reach of your dating profile, but as the official method for exerting granular control over who you match with.
“This is part of a broader effort to help people connect more intentionally on Tinder. Our new product principles guide every decision, and this one speaks directly to a few: prioritizing user outcomes, moving fast, and learning quickly,” Tinder’s VP of Comms Phil Price Fry tells Engadget. “Not every test becomes a permanent feature, but every test helps us learn how we can deliver smarter, more relevant experiences and push the category forward.”
Whether being able to set a height preference becomes a real feature, it doesn’t stop people from lying in their dating profile. Though, as TechCrunch notes, Tinder has joked about implementing height verification in the past.
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