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Tinder has just announced plans to offer a premium version of its dating and hookup app in November. The premium version will give paying users enhanced matching features, while the basic features of Tinder will remain free. Tinder CEO Sean Rad was mum about exactly what the new premium features would be, but hinted they are related to so-called “Tinder hacks.”
“We hear all these cases where people are using Tinder outside of dating,” said CEO Sean Rad at the Forbes 30 Under 30 Conference. “There are different ways that materializes. Whether its using it for local recommendations when traveling, or trying to make friends because you came to a new city, or just trying to make new friends period. Or doing business; we hear all the time that people are cutting deals on Tinder.”
Rad said the new premium services are “two things our users have been asking for, for a very long time.”
“We think there is great opportunity for us to introduce these features. Because we think there is value there and users are willing to pay, and it adds to the user experience, we’re going to charge for it,” said Rad.
Up to this point, Tinder has had no revenue and has offered its app to users free-of-charge. The startup has sustained itself on investments from its parent company IAC. Rad has hinted at different revenue models for Tinder in the past, including the possibility of sending paid gifts like flowers via the app. He has also indicated interest in expanding Tinder beyond dating to other verticals such as business networking. The new features may accomplish both. Rad also seemed to hint that one or both of the new features would have something to do travel discovery.
Curiously, Los Angeles-based startup app Yeti already does Tinder-like location discovery. In fact, the card stack swiping user interface was a suggestion made by Sean Rad to Yeti founder Alex Capecelatro.
Whatever the new paid features are, for the vast majority of people making up Tinder’s 1.2 billion profiles swipes and 15 million matches per day the app won’t change.
“Our core offering is always going to remain free,” said Rad. “The test for us is: would we do this even if it didn’t make us money?”
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