Read our Tinder Platinum review.
Craving a quick hookup, a no-strings-attached fling, or a way to kill some time? Download Tinder. This app is the digital equivalent of that slightly sketchy dive bar down the street: a little rough around the edges, always open, and full of people looking for a good time (or at least a temporary escape from reality).
With a massive and active user base, you’ll find matches anywhere, from the busiest cities to the smallest towns. So, if you’re not looking for anything serious and want to have some fun without breaking the bank (or your heart), Tinder’s probably your best bet.
You can’t talk about online dating without talking about Tinder: most people you know have downloaded it at least once, everyone has an opinion on it, and it’s just too damn popular to ignore. We all love to hate on the swipe-happy hookup app, but it’s undeniably effective, and, most importantly for our purposes, it’s got a killer free version.
If you want to level up your Tinder game, they offer paid options like Tinder Plus, Gold, and Platinum. (Gold and Platinum include everything in Tinder Plus and then some.) These premium subscriptions auto-renew, but cancellation is easy enough — just go into the app and change your preferences.
At its inaugural “Tinder Sparks” event, the app announced a handful of new features to fight swipe fatigue. They dropped an AI matchmaker called “Chemistry,” which uses a quick Q&A and an optional camera roll scan to hand-pick a curated daily match. They also launched an Astrology Mode and a redesigned Music Mode to push people you’d probably vibe with to the front of your stack. To help get those matches offline, the company’s also piloting an in-app “Events” tab in LA this spring that lets you browse low-stakes group hangouts. The catch is you have to be Photo Verified to RSVP to an event, which ties into their best update: safety
As of last October, all new U.S. users must pass a mandatory “Face Check” video selfie to join the app. This verifies that you’re a real human (not a bot) and has reportedly reduced bad actor reports by 40 percent.
That said, each time you open the app is a gamble. Your next Tinder match could be your future spouse, or it might just be some rando asking if you’re DTF. That’s just the unpredictable nature of modern love, especially when it’s free and readily available at your fingertips.
