Tinder Isn’t Just for Phones Anymore. Here’s What to Know
Coming to a computer near you.
If you’ve been itching to Tinder swipe on your work computer without your boss noticing, now is your chance.
After beta testing Tinder Online abroad in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, the Philippines, and Sweden, it looks like the desktop version of everyone’s favorite “hookup app” has been quietly unveiled in the U.S.
It’s not clear when the web version became available, but the dating platform confirmed to Inverse that it “rolled out recently.”
With sneaky features like “Work Mode,” the equivalent of hiding your AIM window from your mom in the early aughts, it’s safe to say Tinder is encouraging swiping, matching, and chatting on the clock or in class.
Case in point: clicking on the small briefcase icon will take you to this fake Google Doc-esque page, making it look like you’re working away.
“Introducing Tinder Online: a fun, new web experience and your English professor’s worst nightmare,” the company’s blog wrote at the time of Tinder Online’s announcement earlier this year.
At the time, Head of Product at Tinder Brian Norgard told TechCrunch that despite years of being a mobile-native app, the web version is “meant to serve users in emerging markets who don’t have enough storage on their phone” and allow users the option to do their swiping and messaging on the desktop as opposed to their smaller smartphones.
Indeed, with keyboard shortcuts to help you swipe quickly on (or off) your lunch break, Tinder Online looks as if it has been designed specifically to be used with coworkers-over-your-shoulder in mind.
The web version comes on the heels of the company’s recently announced new features to “enhance the way users interact on the app,” i.e. filter out the sleaziness it’s become known for.
“These features were created by the women of Tinder, for women, to help rid their ecosystem of d-bags,” the company stated earlier this month.
Despite the logical reasoning behind the launch of the desktop version, the company declined to comment on the branding along with the shift to Tinder Online.
