1. Tinder review: summary

In the last months, Tinder  was profiting from the huge media hype, and gained many new users here in Australia. People who never really engaged in online dating, were attracted by the simplicity of the app, and by the promise of  real-time flirting.

In the meantime, Tinder has become a lifestyle  for the world of singles. The concept “to tinder” is now a synonym for the mobile Hot or Not game. On our Tinder test, we tried to see how quickly you could get a date using the app. We also wanted to again check the theory of Tinder-boredom. Are you really getting bored that fast on Tinder? Furthermore, we will give tips on opening lines and look into which small talk topics were most successful on Tinder.

2. Tinder practical test

We have decided to make our own Tinder experiences in Australia, and to test them over a period of several months. The app can be very quickly downloaded through the App Store. Linking it with your Facebook account is quickly done as well. You need to be a Facebook user to create a Tinder profile.

After permitting the app to connect to Facebook, you can choose pictures from your Facebook that you want to add to your Tinder profile. This is a piece of cake. Tinder accesses the same folder structure as Facebook (Mobile Uploads, Profile Pictures etc.).

The only notable adjustment when setting up your profile is in the range. Here you can adjust the distance of your matches search (2-160km) as well as the age of your matches (18-50). An additional setting allows you to see only women or only men, or both genders at the same time.

We male users only wanted to see women between the ages 21-42. We set the radius to 50 kilometres as we were prepared to leave the city up to 50km for a date worthwhile.

Picture: A tinder profile

The first matches within the first 2 hours

We created the profile within 5 minutes. Now the actual “tindering” starts. We were viewing profiles of women and either swiping to the right (= like) or to the left (= not interesting).

After initial careful and conscientious evaluation of the  profiles, we must say that for the most part we almost always swiped to the right. In the end, women are making the real decision of who to chat with and who to avoid. In the few cases we were uninterested, we swiped to the left. This is the same as saying “goodbye”. There are official statistics stating that 46% of the male Tinder users in the world are swiping to the right, with women only at 14%. These stats show that women hold the power in the Tinder game.

After rating numerous women within a few minutes, the system could not find any additionally suiting contacts in the area. So we turned off Tinder and took a break.

After about two hours, a notification arrived informing us of our first match. It was now time to start flirting.

Now we should ask ourselves how the first message to the lady should look. We decided to keep it short, as follows:

Picture: Notification that a match has been found

After three minutes, the woman answered saying something trivial as well. To keep the conversation going, we spoke about plans for the weekend, and quickly found out about each other’s interesting. While chatting, two additional matches arrived. We needed to start conversations and  keep them running, too. It was quite a strenuous afternoon.

If you need tips on what you should talk about on Tinder, we have included some ideas for the Tinder small talk. However, in the end, it is all about the partner and their interests.

• Activities in the region (hiking trails, cycle paths, lakes, mountains)
• Parties, clubs, cool bars, attractions
• Travel destinations and dreams
• Love, relationships, affairs
• Music, movies
• Sports
• Books and authors

It is important to keep it interesting and casual; otherwise it may seem like a job interview. Getting to know each other on Tinder should be done in a playful way.

Something clever to ask them about is their opinions. Examples:

• Hey, I need an opinion of a woman. What do you think about...
• I bet an attractive woman such as you can give a recommendation for a nice bar or restaurant?
• ...

Asking questions like these will make your match feel appreciated and they, in most cases, will answer your question. Another thing you can do, especially when it comes to the second question, is to suggest you meet each other in the location they answered. Sometimes it works! ;-)

Playing games can also make the process of getting to know each other quite entertaining.

One idea we have tried is each person says some word, i.e. meadow, and the other must spontaneously say something about it without thinking. This is great fun and you can quickly see what your flirt partner likes and dislikes.

The first encounter after 8 days

If you successfully bring good vibes into Tinder and do not take your matches or yourself too serious, then it is quite easy to arrange a date on Tinder. All those registered on Tinder do not want chat relationships for months. They want to meet new people, laugh, and have fun.

In addition, our experience was that it is important to relocate the conversation to some different communication medium. WhatsApp is a perfect example of this. Not only can you send messages, but you can also send pictures and funny emoticons. Plus, a conversation on WhatsApp does not feel that much like dating (like it might on Tinder). So it brings you one step closer to an in-person meet-up.

How can you start with the transition to WhatsApp, you may ask? The best way is to be open-minded and direct. You could, for example, add your telephone number to Tinder and say that it’s much easier to communicate on WhatsApp. Pay attention to the ladies’ reactions and evaluate how they respond to this.

An alternative to WhatsApp is Facebook Chat. Some women don’t like to give their telephone number to foreigners. So in this case, Facebook provides a happy medium. Having Tinder matches as a friend on Facebook also allows you to get to know more about them through their profile.

Our first meeting with a woman from Tinder was after 8 days of chatting. We first got to know each other on Tinder, hit it off, switched to WhatsApp, and then decided on a place to meet.

Tinder’s success rate

After matching on Tinder, your match can react in many different ways once you talk to them. It’s important to make sure you make no wrong moves. Nevertheless, there are openers which work better and some that work worse. Keeping conversations interesting and exciting is deciding of your Tinder fate. Below, you will see an overview with different messages and their corresponding response rate.

Picture: Analysis of our success rate on Tinder

3. Functions and profiles on Tinder

The functionality of Tinder is very limited. But this is certainly a success factor of the popular dating app.

Proximity search / detection preferences

The Tinder app uses location-specific data to suggest Tinder users who are suitable to your location preferences. In the detection preferences you can also state the age and the gender you prefer. The maximum search radius is 160km. Depending on your settings; Tinder will suggest suitable singles within your desired search radius.

Tinder profiles with limited information

The Tinder app is very strongly focused on visual stimuli. Initially, you can look through a large selection of pictures of potential matches. Furthermore, Tinder shows possible commonalities. This data is taken from Facebook profiles. As far as commonalities are concerned, these are likes from Facebook pages. Furthermore, you can see any existing mutual friends. In addition to the information from Facebook, Tinder users can also provide a short profile description of up to 500 characters.

In the profile descriptions you will see many different things. Some use quotes, some have a link to their Instagram account, and others share something about their hobbies and interests. Very often a woman’s profile will state that she is not interested in hook-ups. Tall women often indicate their height so there are no “surprises” on a date.

Hot or Not: Just wipe to the left or the right

Firstly, “tindering” consists of two different activities. Women/men you like can receive that “like” by swiping  to the right. A “dislike” is expressed by swiping to the left. When, over time, likes coordinate, both parties then have the ability to chat with each other. This is called a “match” on Tinder.

Since the introduction of Tinder Plus membership (explained below), the number of likes has been limited to 200 per day. If you surpass 200 daily likes, you won’t be able to see user profiles for the rest of the day. The suspension will be taken off again after 24 hours. Tinder has implemented this barrier in an attempt to stop users from “swiping right” without reason.

Picture: Notification on Tinder that your are out of likes today

Tinder Plus functions (passport, undo, and unlimited matches)

After the  global success of Tinder, the creators have now launched paid functions, as the free app was quite limited.

The so-called Tinder Plus membership will give you the following advantages:

1. Unlimited swipes to the right.
With the introduction of the Tinder Plus membership (as explained before), the number of “right-swipes” (= contacts) was limited to 200 a day. If you want to swipe right more, you will either have to buy the Plus membership or wait  24 hours for the suspension to be removed. Then you can continue swiping.

2. Tinder passport
In contract to free Tinder versions, you can change your location with the Tinder passport and look through interesting profiles in other places. You could, for example, connect with a woman before you depart on your next vacation to Bangkok.

3. Undo-function
With the Undo function you can  take back a “left-swipe” (a “dislike”). The  existing Tinder app says that a swipe to the left is “goodbye” forever.

Our opinion about Tinder plus: Not necessarily needed. You can save your money!

Are there fake profiles on Tinder?

On Tinder, you may find fake profiles. Normally, you match with a beautiful young woman (very often professional ladies who want to advertise their own online service i. e. a live-cam chat). Then, you will receive a message that includes a link and she’ll ask you to chat with her by clicking the link.

You should not click these links. Instead, inform Tinder’s customer care team about it. You can inform them with a single touch of a button. In addition, you can also block these users with a single tap. Sometimes, such contact will send you additional messages in which they wonder why you have not yet contacted them back. She may say she has time to chat in the evening, and is bored alone at home.

4. Tinder Customer Friendliness

The Tinder app is very user-friendly. There really isn’t much to complain about in this area. The only thing which could be criticized is the strong link with Facebook. You need to have an existing Facebook profile to become a Tinder user. So,  anyone without Facebook is completely left out.

If you have any questions for Tinder customer service, you can contact directly from the app. Just tap “report a problem” and you will be redirected to your e-mail. In the footer of the e-mail, your device information will be inscribed automatically, so that customer service will be able to understand the problem better. Different problems occur on different devices.

Tinder termination

If you use the free Tinder version, you do not need to worry about termination periods and other termination modalities. If you  want to delete your Tinder profile, go to “App settings” and then tap “Delete account”. Just like that, you are no longer a member in the world of Tinder. Just keep in mind that after deleting the app, all present Tinder matches will be lost forever.

In the app under “Settings” you will find a log-out option. Please do not confuse this with “Delete account”. After logging-out, you can always log-in again with your user name and your password, and everything will be the same as before.

Tinder Plus termination

If you have decided to get the Tinder Plus membership, you can always terminate it without reason. Up until the expiration of  your paid Plus membership, you will still be able to use it. If the paid membership expires, it will not be automatically extend after termination.

Attention: Deletion of the app or logging-out of the app has no terminating effect. To terminate Tinder Plus, please do as we described below.

The process of termination depends on the device holding your Tinder Plus subscription.

Terminating Tinder Plus: iOS (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch)

1. Go to the App Store with your Apple device
2. Scroll to the bottom of the page and then click on your Apple ID (this is your Apple ID e-mail address)
3. Log-in if prompted
4. Go to subscriptions and quit your subscription by altering the associated button

Tinder Plus termination: Android

If you use an Android device, you can dismiss your Tinder Plus subscription in the Google Play Store. There, search “Tinder” and tap the Tinder app. Now you have the choice of quitting the Tinder Plus subscription.

5. Tinder: Value for Money

Due to the fact that Tinder can be used for free, the price-performance ratio is amazing. Tinder is a nice pastime which is indeed fun. However, if you’re looking for a life partner, Tinder can be really annoying and time-consuming. In this case, you could say that time is money. If you think of it this way, the price-performance ratio is quite bad.

Beyond the free Tinder membership, there is now the option of booking the extended Tinder Plus membership. With Tinder Plus you can search for women and men exceeding the limit of the 160km radius (with the Tinder passport). In addition, you can give the person who you accidentally swiped to the left a second chance. This is a great feature since normally the contact you swiped to the left disappears forever.

The price for Tinder Plus depends on your age. For anyone below the age of 28, Tinder Plus costs $12,99 a month, while users aged 28 and over will pay $24,99 a month.