Tinder’s “Hot Spots” gets quenched
Tinder apologizes for mishaps, insisting its intention was merely to bring the advantages digital dating to real life
Less than a year after launching, Tinder’s controversial new feature has been shut down after a myriad of concerns from women’s rights groups.
From sweet beginnings…
Just a few months after launching, Tinder’s new feature had utterly reshaped the dating world. “Going out made sense again,” said Brandon, a 28 year-old financial advisor living in New York City. “We had gotten used to the apps, especially during quarantine. Bar hopping as a single guy just felt like a waste of time and money.”
Tinder’s new feature was announced shortly after the end of 2022’s winter quarantine period. “Many users has expressed a desire to get off the apps and actually meet people in real life,” Tinder said in a blogpost when releasing the new feature. “We’re here to facilitate that connection in any way we can, both on and offline.”
Allowing users to locate the “hot spots” for singles, it made it easier to find bars and clubs where you may find your match. Some privacy activists were concerned that the feature was a violation of data rights, but that didn’t stop it from becoming an instant hit for singles starving for some real-life interaction. While exact numbers have yet to be released, location data company Placer says that the feature was responsible for a nearly 100% increase in nightlife visitation over the summer.
…to sour endings
Just a month later, they allowed users to sort through the “hottest” locations for singles. This meant that before ever leaving your home, you could find out not only where other singles were congregating, but how “hot” they were. Using swipe ratio to determine a user’s hotness, Tinder would tell its users just how hot the other singles of their gender of choice were at that bar down the block. In an age of convenience and stay indoors, it aimed to help its users determine not only if to go out, but where.
And at $15/month, it wasn’t cheap.
Users loved it. Shareholders loved it even more. With the added revenue from partnerships with local bars, Tinder’s revenue skyrocketed in Q3 by over 200%.
But then the complaints came in:
Bars began firing less attractive people to drive its hotness rating up. They closed their doors to women with low ratings. Swipes became a currency, a necessary means to enter exclusive bars without paying an extra fee. And so the next class separation began.
“The Uglies” Unite
Marissa Rothschild wasn’t having it. “I was originally a 7.7, but after seeing the mistreatment of my fellow women, I had to do something.” So Marissa began to share her journey to lower her score. “By uploading unattractive pictures,” she says, “I am standing by my fellow women who value things other than mere looks. And I quickly saw that I wasn’t alone.”
Across the country, women and men began uniting around Rothschild to form a group they coined “The Uglies.” By November, their San Francisco-based rallies outside of Tinder HQ were attended by 100,000+, and Tinder had no choice but to address the matter by shutting down the popular new feature. Though they insist this was not their intention, it’s hard to imagine they could not forsee the consequences.
“Now, we are back to where we were,” said Marissa in a statement on Instagram, “but the healing process for us uglies has only just begun.”
