Tinder Review – Reasons Not to Join?

Fact Checked by: John Stringfellow, CEH

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With more than 75 million active users (as of a few years ago), you won’t find anyone who doesn’t agree that Tinder is one of the most popular dating apps on the planet. But popularity doesn’t always equate to quality. And, frankly, Tinder has found itself in the proverbial hot seat of harsh criticism more than a time or two.

But just because some people complain about things like fake accounts and sexually explicit communications, doesn’t necessarily mean than Tinder isn’t the right dating app for you. 75 million people can’t be that wrong, right?

That’s what we’re here to get to the bottom of today. In our Tinder reviews, we’re going to take a non-biased look at the app and share the truth about the reasons you might want to join, reasons you might not want to join, and whether this is the place for your dating needs (and what alternatives exist in case it’s not).

If you’re ready, let’s get our swiping fingers ready, prepare our super likes, and dive into our Tinder review once and for all.

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In This Review

Age Brackets | Pros and Cons | Testing | Key Issues | How it Works | Features | Pricing | Support | Free Trial

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Your age bracket and relationship goals mean everything.

Let’s lay it all out there upfront and then get into the detailed reviews in a minute.

If you are a young single (18-30 years old) and you’re looking primarily for hookups or casual romance, then yes, Tinder is basically built for you. However, if you’re wanting a serious relationship, are a single over the age of 30, prefer compatibility-based matching, or don’t want a higher chance of exposure to unsolicited risque photos from matches—Tinder is definitely not the app for you.

While this might sound oversimplified, it’s really what it comes down to. For casual dating and random hookups, Tinder checks all the boxes and far surpasses almost all of the competition by miles. They have the most members, the best technology, and understand how to get people excited (sometimes addicted) to finding their next match.

Again, these benefits and major pros only matter if you’re looking for a hookup or casual dating. If your relationship goals are literally anything else or even a degree more serious, Tinder isn’t going to be right for you at all.

Intuitive design and heavily incentivized paid options lead the pros and cons

When it comes to the pros and cons of using the Tinder APP, a lot of it is heavily dependent on your relationship goals. If you fall into one of the categories of users it’s best for, you’ll find a lot to like. However, if it’s not your speed—not a lot to get excited about.

Awards and Accolades

Tinder Dating App Testing Results

Learn more about how we test and score here.

Our team has been testing and reviewing Tinder for nearly 8 years now spending countless hours and dollars testing the features, quality, and experience. Above, you’ll see the results of our overall tests through our proprietary algorithm.

Tinder scored a 7.40 out of 10.0 with high marks in popularity and feature growth, and the lowest marks in safety and security due to a manual adjustment for the potential risks of gamification and swipe technology.

To learn more about our testing, here are some details from the individual section tests.

Results for Tinder from the 9-Point Safety and Security Checklist

Exogenous Factor Notification – For clarity, you will notice that our algorithmic score for Tinder’s safety and security is 6.9. However, our team manually adjusted this to 4.6 for our overall scoring due to concerns surrounding gamification and the effects it can have on users.

Value Analysis for the Price (DAVPD)

The total raw points earned by Tinder in our testing for Dating App Value Per Dollar (DAVPD) was 1,140 out of a possible 2,000. Calculating the DAVPD based on price is challenging, as much of Tinder pricing is a la carte and there are multiple membership levels.

Ignoring all a la carte purchases (that would bring the overall score down), we calculated DAVPD for all three Tinder subscriptions based on their prices per month of Tinder+ ($16.67), Tinder Gold ($23.17), and Tinder Platinum ($30.00), which produced scores of 68.386, 49.202, and 38.000, all respectively

UX Testing

When testing UX on Tinder, it was incredibly slick, modern, and easy to navigate. While you’ll find that our review and testing unearthed some concerns with the matchmaking process, no one is denying that the UX and UI and pretty top notch.

3 Reason NOT to Join Tinder

1. It can be a bit of an “adult” environment sometimes. What we mean is that a lot of users are on the Tinder app to find random hookups and “spread their sexual wings” (that’s the nicest way we could think to say “sending d*ck picks”). If that’s not your speed, that’s a great reason not to join.
2. People have learned to abuse the algorithm. The idea that a conversation only starts when two people swipe that they’re interested showing mutual interest is amazing. However, some people have learned to just rapidly swipe yes on 100% of people and look to see if they’re actually interested later. This really defeats the purpose of the app and can get your hopes up about a match you really like only to see them quickly unmatch a few minutes later.
3. We’re not kidding about it not being great for committed relationships. Yes, we sound like a broken record but for good reason. The Tinder app is awful for serious relationships, but that’s not a knock on them as it’s really not what their platform is designed for.

3 Reason TO Join Tinder

1. There’s nothing wrong with casual dating. If you’re young and looking to date casually, that’s okay! And if that’s the case, there really aren’t many platforms with as many options as there are on Tinder.
2. Initial time investment is low. Unlike some other top dating sites that have robust user profiles, Tinder keeps it short and sweet. All you have to do is upload a few pictures and a couple sentences about yourself and you’re in the game.
3. The proximity matching feature is pretty neat. We’ll take a bit more in a minute about exactly how Tinder works, but in the meantime, we want to touch on this. Matches are created based on where you are at the exact moment you’re looking for someone. This is a unique feature that you don’t really see on any other major apps making it a fun and interesting reason to join to at least try it out.

How Does Tinder Work?

Let’s break down the jargon-filled answer we gave you above to show you exactly how Tinder works.

1. Single men and women download the Tinder app and create an account.
2. New members, like you, upload photos and a short bio about yourself.
3. You are then shown singles of your preferred gender that are physically located within a certain number of miles of your current location. It doesn’t matter where you live, but it’s only based on where you physically are at the time of using the app.
4. When you see members, you are able to swipe left or swipe right to indicate if you’re interested or not.
   1. Swipe left means you’re not interested.
   2. Swipe right means you’re interested.
5. While this is happening, your photos and profile are also being shown to other singles in the same area. These singles have the same option of swiping left or right to indicate interest.
6. If you indicate interest on someone and they indicate interest on you, you’re both notified of a match!
7. A chat is automatically opened for both of you to begin chatting.

There are additional features that augment the experience, but this is the gist of how Tinder works. It helps look for people who are mutually interested that are physically located in the same area. While other dating apps use your location

Does Tinder Show Other People I Swiped Right and Liked Them?

Singles are only notified that someone is interested in them if they indicate interest in you. That way if there isn’t a mutual interest, no one feels embarrassed.

Tinder Plus, Gold, and Platinum Features

The base version of Tinder isn’t particularly flush with features. In fact, the majority of the app consists of swiping left or right on pictures until you find someone you like who likes you too. However, Tinder does offer some additional features for those who purchase paid memberships. Here’s what we found during our Tinder reviews. 

Tinder Plus Features

Tinder plus is the first level of paid Tinder subscription. It adds a few benefits to your account like removing the limit on swiping right and taking away ads. There are also a few added features you may really enjoy. 

• Rewind – Lets you undo your last swipe if you accidentally swiped the wrong direction.
• 5 Super Likes – Super likes are a way of telling a user you are very interested in them. With Plus, you get 5 free super likes per day.
• 1 Monthly Boost – Boost allows your profile to be at the top of people’s lists for 30 minutes.
• Passport – Allows you to look at and interact with accounts from around the world. 

Tinder Gold Features

Tinder Gold is the 2nd highest membership plan. It offers all the perks of Tinder Plus along with the following additional perks:

• New Top Picks – Get more top picks each day, which are users that you are likely to be interested in.
• Visible Likes – See which accounts like you before you like them.

Tinder Platinum Features

Tinder Platinum is the top-tier version of Tinder. It has all the features of Plus and Gold, but also includes these extra features:

• Message Before Matching – Other users can only message users that like them, but with Platinum you can message whoever you like.
• Priority Likes – Your likes take priority over the likes of other tiered users.
• Weekly Like Recap – See who likes you over the last 7 days. 

Pricing is interesting with some free and some pay options.

One thing that’s nice for Tinder users looking to get a leg up on the competition by upgrading their account is that the pricing is quite reasonable. Yes, it’s a lot of nickel and diming with different features (which can add up), but it also allows you to only have to pay for exactly what you want.

In the past, Tinder actually charged a different set of prices for users who were over the age of 30. Thankfully (for our readers in that age bracket), the company did away with the practice after taking some pretty swift backlash. Now, all users will see the same pricing as other users in their country.

Here are the most recent prices we’ve seen:

What you’ll get if you pay for each tier

Unless you’re already a Tinder expert, these prices probably don’t mean much unless you know what comes with each tier. You’ll see a few of the differences in the screenshots below, but the number of features available is extremely high, so you’ll probably want to check out the chart for the full picture.

Weekly pricing vs monthly pricing

Weekly pricing for dating apps is slowly becoming more prevalent (we won’t say popular because not everyone is a fan). This is exactly what you might think it is—the ability to pay for your membership weekly.

This may look attractive because the price point is lower, but remember that you’ll be paying this amount every 7 days. So, for example, if you purchase Tinder+ for $12.99 a week, that’s half the price of the monthly (yay!). However, if you stay on that plan for the month, you’ll pay about $56 for the month (assuming 4.3 weeks in a month). This would be over double the monthly price.

If you only need it for a short period of time like on a vacation, go with weekly. If not, determine how long you’re realistically going to be using the app. The monthly price offers more savings and the 6-month price offers even more savings.

That said, there are no refunds or discounts for time not used if you meet someone. If you meet someone (great), but you won’t receive a refund for the time that you already paid for.

Savings with longer term purchases (paid upfront)

As we touched on, if you purchase a longer term, you will pay more in total, but the breakdown of what it costs per day/week/month will be lower.

For clarity, if you purchase a shorter term and realize you want longer, you won’t receive a credit for the time you purchase already. For example, if you purchase 1 month and realize later you actually want 6 months, you’ll just have to buy the 6 month membership (you won’t get what you paid deducted from the longer membership). This is standard, but we just want to help make it clear as people ask.

A La Carte Feature Available for Purchase on the App

Not only can you purchase a subscription for Tinder, but you can also buy Boosts, an a la carte feature to give you an advantage over the other folks on the app.

When you purchase a boost, it puts you at the top of searches in your area for 30 minutes. You will get (1) of these per month when you upgrade to Tinder Gold or Tinder Platinum, but you can also purchase these from any tier level, including the free account tier.

Here’s the pricing for boosts that come in packs of 1, 5, or 10.

Customer support is run of the mill, which is fine.

Tinder is pretty par for the course in terms of not having a standard, live customer service option. However, we do like that their support request form is easy to find and let’s you be very specific in selecting your problem and desired resolution. This gives us hope that these messages are actually making it to a person who can resolve issues quickly.

Tinder Free Trial

There is a lot of outdated and frankly incorrect information out there about the Tinder free trial, specifically in regards to what you get to do. To clear up the confusion, we went directly to Tinder to pull exactly which features you do get for free, and which you’re going to need to pay for.

While we could have just had two columns (paid and free trial), we went a step further to show you not only what you do and don’t get for free, but also which paid plan has the features you may be looking for. Let’s have a look and then we’ll break it down (and share how to get this).

You can actually talk to people on Tinder for free…

Yes, you are 100% going to be able to send messages with the Tinder free trial, if you are able to match with someone. Remember, Tinder doesn’t let you send messages to anyone (with the exception of Tinder Platinum), unless you both have indicated interest in each other.

If and when this happens, though, you will be able to message back and forth at no cost without needing to upgrade. Compared to other free trials (by companies not owned by Match Group), this is pretty nice to see.

That said, you’ll be at a disadvantage due to the pay to play options

If you noticed in the last section, we kept saying “if” you match. All of the upgrades and subscription options available on Tinder are meant to give those who pay an advantage to more matches and more conversations.

What this means is that if you’re only on the free trial, you’re going to in line behind the people who are paying to be in front of you.

People with priority likes (ahead of you), the ability to message without matching (you can’t do that), free boosts and super likes (you get none), the ability to see top picks and who liked them (you can’t), and unlimited likes (you are limited on your swipes).

Not trying to be negative here, but we just want to temper your expectations. Remember, the idea is to get you hooked so you pay to upgrade. There are some posts on Reddit talking about this (we shared one below). You don’t need to read it, but the gist is what we just shared.

What's the point of the "free version" of Tinder?
byu/CesarDMTXD inDatingApps

Your desirability is going to determine how much utility you get from the Tinder free trial.

We think everyone is desirable in their own special way. However, Tinder is heavily set up to be looks-based matching. What this means is that if your strong points aren’t how you look in front of the camera (like your personality, character, integrity, etc. or you just take bad photos), you’re going to be at a disadvantage (again).

How can you overcome this? Well, the first way is to pay and get moved off the Tinder free trial. The second, if you’re looking for something less superficial, might be to try a different dating app that is more dedicated to the whole-person concept.

Is it worth getting the free trial at all?

Ultimately that’s up to you. Most people we talk to are excited when they start the free trial, but become disappointed throughout the process as they realize they have to pay to have a real shot of making something happen.

One note…you can purchase some of the premium features a la carte, if you’re looking for a little boost (literally). That said, they are still pricy, and you might as well get a subscription as some of these come with that for free.

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