Jamie F
The start of a new academic year isn’t known to be a particularly difficult time to find hook-ups, for university students fresh on campus. Still, Tinder has relaunched a university-focused matching function to grease the wheels alongside any alcohol deals or hobby meet-ups that might spark romance.
‘Tinder U’, a version of which was previously launched as early as 2018, is available in the US and UK. The refreshed version connects students from their own or nearby universities, using verified university email addresses and placing relevant profiles to the top of the swipe pile.
In the US, Tinder U is only available if you’re studying at a four-year, accredited, not-for-profit school that delivers courses in a traditional face-to-face learning format. Old school, you might say.
To activate Tinder U click on your profile icon, then ‘edit profile’, add your university under the ‘education’ section then click on ‘Apply for Tinder Uni’.
Hinge targets scammers with video verification
Hinge is set to roll out video verification soon as the dating app attempts to crack down on scammers posting fake profiles and photos.
Named Selfie Verification, the function will logically involve users taking a selfie video which is matched to their profile photos, to verify that they are indeed a real person rather than a scammer looking to trick people out of their life savings with the promise of digital romance.
Users will get a ‘verified’ badge on their profile once Selfie Verification is complete. A recent Wired investigation showed that there was a huge amount of fake accounts on Hinge.
A Hinge spokesperson said: “As romance scammers find new ways to defraud people, we are committed to investing in new updates and technologies that prevent harm to our daters.”
Selfie Verification is expected to be rolled out in December 2022.
Plenty of Fish’s first game
Plenty of Fish is attempting to claw back some relevance in the dating app sphere by launching its first in-app game.
The dating app, owned by Match Group and overshadowed by other Match products such as Tinder, has refreshed its look and launched a game, Cue’d Up. The game can be played by up to six singles on the app.
The game involves the players all answering the same question (or ‘cue’), and is designed to help them showcase their personality and wit. The players then ‘like’ their favourite answer and are given the opportunity to match with the players they connect with most.
In January 2022 Plenty of Fish had a 15 percent share of the US dating app market, behind Tinder (32 percent), Bumble (22 percent) and Hinge (15 percent).
