Free: Users can see profiles, match with other users and chat with matches. They can send one Super Like each day, which shows someone that you’re really interested in them.
Tinder Plus: This in-app subscription gives you access to features like Rewind (which allows you to review people you accidentally passed on) and Passport (which allows you to match with people in different locations), as well as five Super Likes per day and unlimited ‘right swipes’ or likes. It also gives you additional Boosts (which increase profile visibility).
Tinder Gold: Offers the same features as Tinder Plus, as well as access to the Likes You feature, which shows you who likes you before you swipe.
Super Like: You can send a Super Like to let someone know you’re really interested in them. Prices range from around $1–2 depending on how many you buy.
Boost: This makes you one of the top profiles in your area for 30 minutes. Prices range from around $5–7 depending on how many you buy.
Pricing issues
Tinder was ordered to pay a settlement of $US17.3 million to its Californian users in 2019, after a class action lawsuit was filed against the company regarding its discriminatory pricing. The app was charging users over 30 $US for a subscription, while users aged 29 and younger were paying only $US9.99 per month.
Tinder’s pricing policy in Australia is ambiguous and the company did not provide specific information in response to our request for pricing information. According to a Tinder spokesperson, Tinder has “a dynamic pricing orlando sugar daddy structure that offers multiple price points, which may vary by region, length of subscription, recent in-app promotions and more.”
We did a mystery shop of Tinder Plus to find out more about the app’s prices in Australia, setting quotas based on gender, sexuality, location and age group (18–29, 30–49 and 50+).
The price difference between the lowest and the highest price was huge: $6.99 for a queer female under 30 in a metropolitan area and $ for a straight male over 50 in a metropolitan area, for one month. On average, people who were over the age of 30 were offered prices that were more than double the prices given to those who were under 30, like in the US.
However, there were also large price variations within these age groups, ranging from $6.99 to $ in the under-30 cohort and $ to $ in the over-30 one. This suggests Tinder is using other, unknown factors to personalise its prices further. We didn’t see a pattern that could explain the differences.
Privacy
To use the app, you must sign up with your Facebook account or your phone number. If you use your Facebook account, this then forms the basis of your Tinder profile. According to Tinder, this is to ensure matches are made with people who share interests and common friends. That being said, Tinder doesn’t post to your Facebook profile, so if you’re concerned about friends getting updates about your use of the site, at least on this point, you can rest easy.
Tinder also gives itself access to the content of your chats when you’re using the app and may share your personal data with third parties for advertising purposes.
Tinder is part of the Match Group of businesses, which includes Plenty of Fish, OkCupid and Match. Your information may be shared with other businesses in this group. Tinder and OkCupid have recently come under fire following the release of a report by the Norwegian Consumer Council which found that the apps are sharing personal user information with third parties.