Tinder Launches Paid Premium Service

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Tinder Launches Paid Premium Service
(Tinder)

Tinder is hoping its latest move will turn its billions of swipes into cash.

The West Hollywood dating app on Monday launched a premium service called Tinder Plus to give exclusive features to paid users.

For instance, the passport feature lets app users change their search location to match with people from faraway places. Free users are limited to a 100-mile search radius. Another feature, called rewind, aims to eliminate missed connections, allowing users to “undo” their last swipe in case they accidentally swipe left – that is, reject – a potential match, addressing a common complaint of Tinder users.

The monthly subscription fee for the upgraded service will vary depending on a user’s age and location. In the U.S., most users will pay $9.99 a month, though older users – there’s no clear age cutoff yet – could pay $20 a month. Tinder users in developing countries would pay $2.99 a month.

But there are doubts about whether young Tinder users will be willing to shell out for an upgraded experience, as Tinder will continue to offer a free-to-use version. That uncertainty has left some analysts skeptical about Tinder’s ability to generate real revenue for parent company InterActivCorp, or IAC.

Greg Blatt, IAC’s chairman, said last month during an earnings call that he expected Tinder to also generate ad revenue this year, though he could not say when or to what extent.

Tinder processes more than 1.2 billion swipes and makes more than 14 million matches a day.

Staff reporter Melissah Yang can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @MelissahYang for the latest in L.A. tech news.

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