Skip to main content

The new Tinder lets you stick people in the dreaded friend zone

tinder update now can add people lists
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Tinder released an update on Monday with some major new features. For Tinder 3.0, the app’s scope is expanding to a new, necessary place: the friend zone. 

Now, instead of just selecting potential romantic partners, Tinder wants its users to mercilessly and swiftly judge possible new pals. Once users select a prospective platonic bud as a match, they can place each other on lists of friends. This could be a great opportunity to expand Tinder’s chatting function, since users may move from simply sending flirtatious overtures to using the platform as an alternative to Facebook chat or Gchat. With lists, people can match themselves up with their IRL friends and use Tinder as a way to keep in touch as they trawl for soulmates and sexfriends. Screen 4

Of course, lists aren’t only for friends. Because swiping your iPhone to signal whether or not you believe a human being has worth as a potential romantic partner based on a single photograph and basic vitals wasn’t enough judging, Tinder now lets you separate the people you have deemed worthy of maybe-possibly-someday getting sensual with into lists as well. Lists for all! 

The Tinder press release suggests lists like “business connections” but if you’re getting yourself matched up with potential work associates on Tinder, you’re doing it wrong. I suspect people will primarily use the list function to separate their potential matches into other categories, like “Maybe if I’m drunk” — though I can also see people simply making a list of their friends so they can use Tinder as a chatting app as well as a dating service. It’s a smart expansion, and something that’s been in the works for a while; when I talked to co-founder Justin Mateen back in July, he mentioned the plan to expand beyond romantic relationships and into friendships. It appears lists is the app’s first concerted effort to do so, but it’s probably not going to be the last. And since competitors like Hinge are trying to paint Tinder as a niche hookup app, now is the time to avoid easy categorization. 

The Tinder update also included an altered algorithm, so you may end up with more accurate potential matches — according to TechCrunch, this juiced-up algorithm is the first step towards Tinder’s ultimate vision of creating automatic, sensitive lists of people around you that you may want to meet, both romantically and platonically. 

The company also upgraded its interface and expanded its language options. You can also include six photos of yourself to display at the same time now.

Editors' Recommendations

Kate Knibbs
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Kate Knibbs is a writer from Chicago. She is very happy that her borderline-unhealthy Internet habits are rewarded with a…
Twitter to impose dark mode as it’s ‘better in every way,’ Elon Musk says
A white X on a black background, which could be Twitter's new logo.

If you tend to use Twitter in light mode, then prepare for things to change.

The microblogging platform, which is in the process of rebranding to “X” under the orders of new owner Elon Musk, looks set to ditch light mode, leaving you with only one: dark.

Read more
WhatsApp now lets you add short video messages to chats
WhatsApp logo on a phone.

You can now send short video messages in a WhatsApp chat, Meta announced on Thursday.

A video message can last for up to 60 seconds long and is protected with end-to-end encryption.

Read more
Musk shows off new X sign on top of San Francisco HQ, but the city’s not happy
The new X sign replacing the Twitter logo on the company's headquarters in San Francisco.

Soon after Elon Musk tweeted a drone video showing a new white light in the shape of an X atop the company’s headquarters in San Francisco on Friday, the Associated Press (AP) reported that the city had decided to launch in investigation over concerns that the sign's installation may have broken rules.

The X logo is replacing the iconic Twitter bird as Musk continues efforts to rebrand the social media platform that he acquired in October.

Read more