Tinder must be feeling the pressure from rival dating app Bumble, as they made a big move this week that resembles the latter’s business model.
On Bumble, women must message first while lads patiently wait, and now Tinder has adopted a similar approach.
Their new “ladies first” option allows women to choose whether they want to allow messages from men first, or whether they want to be responsible for initiating the conversation.
The chats will remain a two-way street by default, with the female having to opt in to the ladies first option.
Mandy Ginsberg, CEO of the company that owns Tinder, said there is a “pent-up demand” for women-focused products.
“Often, women don’t really want the pressure of kicking off the conversation, but if they want it, that’s great,” she told Market Watch.
“Giving people the choice versus telling people how to engage is the big difference.”
The move comes just a few months after Tinder attempted to acquire Bumble to no avail. Tinder currently has 100 million downloads while Bumble boasts 26 million users.
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