Tinder, Hinge, Bumble and Grindr look to AI to rekindle the romance with users

Tinder, Hinge, Bumble and Grindr are all embracing artificial intelligence (AI) in a bid to woo back their users who have fallen out of love with dating apps.

New AI features are aiming to help eligible singles find a match made in algorithmic heaven by offering users suggestions to improve their profiles and instant feedback on their flirting game.

Grindr’s chief product officer AJ Balance described their AI chatbot, Grindr Wingman, as a virtual friend helping users in their online interactions. “It’s that friend in the bar who’s helping you to ask someone out — but in the virtual context,” Balance told the Financial Times.

The wingman will provide conversation prompts based on user profiles and chat histories to ease the “biggest pain points” of online dating, Balance added.

Match Group, which owns Tinder and Hinge, is also betting big on AI, reallocating resources from their recent acquisition, Hyperconnect, to develop new tools.

Tinder has launched an AI profile-building tool to select the best photos for users, a feature Bumble is developing as well, while Hinge plans to give users AI-generated feedback on their profile. 

Dating apps are coming under increasing pressure to perform. Bumble’s stock plunged 25 per cent in August due to disappointing growth, and Tinder is fighting to reverse a dwindling number of paying subscribers.

It also comes as Grindr is facing a lawsuit in the English High Court over the alleged misuse of private information of thousands of affected UK Grindr users, including highly sensitive information about their HIV status and latest tested date.

The claim, lodged back in April, is brought by Austen Hayes, a legal business that is part of the AIM-listed professional services group Gateley. Grindr said it intends to “respond vigorously to this claim, which appears to be based on a mischaracterisation of practices from more than four years ago, prior to early 2020”.

Back in 2021, the Norwegian Data Protection Authority hit the dating app with a 100m krona (£8.5m) fine over breach of data. The regulator found Grindr had illegally disclosed user data to advertising firms.