Tinder is bringing local gatherings into its dating app as owner Match Group tries to slow a yearslong decline in use by connecting online introductions with face-to-face meetings.
The feature operates in more than 50 cities, the Press Association reported. It has yet to reach the UK, where London is expected to be added. Match Group CEO Spencer Rascoff told the news agency that Tinder works with organizers of existing activities, including run clubs and karaoke nights, so people can connect on the app before or after an event.
Match Group's UK study found that 4% of Gen Z respondents had met their most recent partner at a pub, bar or club. Among single adults surveyed, 61% wanted more of their social lives to take place face to face. Yet 43% said most of their socializing happened through screens, a share that reached 51% among Gen Z respondents.
Rascoff said Match Group added events to renew interest in online dating, with some users potentially paying for premium features later. Making money for Match Group was not the purpose of adding events, he said. Its apps also earn revenue from subscriptions and advertising.
Tinder's use had declined year over year for almost four years when Rascoff joined about two years ago, he told the Press Association. He believes the trend is now close to turning around and credited product work and marketing, including changes to match recommendations and new features.
The audience has still contracted. Match Group said Tinder's daily active users fell 4% year over year in the second quarter, while paying users declined 5%. The company estimated that Tinder's product changes and tests reduced second-quarter direct revenue by about $8 million.
Match Group forecast third-quarter 2026 revenue of $885 million to $895 million, down 2% to 3% from the same quarter a year earlier. Hinge, another Match Group dating app, posted 22% year-over-year revenue growth in the second quarter, the company said in its earnings release.
Match Group is scheduled to report third-quarter results Nov. 2, when its revenue can be compared with that forecast.
