Tinder's Sean Rad: 'Who We Are as a Company Isn't Necessarily About a Swipe' The president of the popular dating app hinted at the company's future.
By Nina Zipkin
Tinder may be moving into new territory, but it isn't interested in playing in Snapchat's sandbox.
In a conversation at TechCrunch Disrupt NY today, when asked if the popular dating app is considering direct photo messaging, Tinder co-founder, president and former CEO Sean Rad answered in the negative.
"No, that's boring. We have bigger ambitions than that…In the coming year you may see different ways of leveraging Tinder to connect with people…different experiences. Who we are as a company isn't necessarily about a swipe." (For those who haven't used Tinder, users swipe right on a person's profile when they're interested and swipe left when they're not.)
Related: Tinder Co-Founder Sean Rad Out as CEO
This March, the company launched a premium service called Tinder Plus. But while the paid version of the app included some sought after perks like Rewind, which lets users go back to a profile they accidentally swiped left on, the pricing raised some eyebrows. Users 30 and over in the U.S. pay $19.99 a month while their 20-something and younger counterparts pay $9.99 a month.
Rad defended the decision, saying it's common for companies of all kinds to experiment with different pricing models. "Our goal is to…just increase engagement and get more people using Tinder Plus. What that means is offering discounts to different users, and we're still experimenting with that. Pricing is changing all the time."
Related: Former Tinder Employees Are Launching a Rival Dating App
Of the Tinder Plus feature Bouncer, which is designed to deter spammers and bots by limiting the number of right-swipes a user can make, Rad said it's the company's way of helping users get more quality matches.
"It's our way of just nudging people into a slightly better pattern. And that's good for them. That's good for the whole ecosystem."
Related: 30 or Older? Sorry, You'll Have to Pay Twice as Much to Use Tinder's New Premium Features.
