Tinder in India is now launching a new feature that allows women to take the first step. The configuration, called "My movement", is similar to the main function of the rival dating application Bumble, which is currently enmeshed in multiple lawsuits with Tinder Parent Match Group. Match sued Bumble for patent violations after unsuccessful acquisition attempts that would have made Bumble another Match Group brand along with Tinder, Plenty of Fish, OKCupid, Match.com and others.
In February of this year, Tinder confirmed that he would later start to try out a new option that would allow women to choose when to start a conversation, but said that this would not be the default setting, as it is at Bumble. Instead, Tinder would allow women to decide whether they wanted to activate this feature or not, he explained then.
The company had not yet launched the option at that time, but said it would come in a future update as a test, before a public debut.
According to a Reuters report released this morning, which TechCrunch has also confirmed, Tinder has been silently testing "My Move" in India for several months, and intends to launch it around the world if all goes well.
The company says it is formally announcing the arrival of the property to India today. First it is available for users in India on iOS, Tinder tells us.
To use the function, women enter the application configuration to enable it with a toggle switch. Once turned on, only they can start a conversation with their coincidences. Previously, anyone could start the chat after a game.
"At Tinder, we are constantly evolving our platform to help create a low pressure environment where our users feel in charge of the connections they make," Tinder India GM, Taru Kapoor, said in a statement provided by Tinder. "By giving our users the ability to exclusively send the first message if and when they wish, My Move gives women the autonomy to choose how to engage with their parties and allows them to control their experiences." We believe that the real option is to leave that women are what they are and empowering their choice to shape their own identity and experiences, "Kapoor added.
Tinder also points out that in India, conversations about dating are still "relatively nascent" but the ideals are evolving rapidly.
"Women, in particular, are looking for ways to take charge of their romantic and social experiences, a phenomenon we see both in cities and in Indian cities," Kapoor said.
Bumble has gained importance by rating herself as a more friendly dating app for women, but the "women go first" feature has always felt a little trick.
What matters most to women is not who initiates the chat, but how pleasant or horrible the conversation becomes. In terms of dealing with direct harassment, Bumble tends to take a public stand on banning online criminals, even publicly embarrassing and banning those who send nasty messages. (That is, if you think "Connor" was a real guy and not, say, a clever marketing gimmick, which seems more likely.)
These movements, even if artificially made, help to set the tone of Bumble. Meanwhile, Tinder still has to deal with his reputation as a "connection application" of days gone by. And present, if we are being honest. Tinder is still the place to turn to having sex on demand, as the new dating application documentary Tinder-shaming Swiped points out.
In other words, Tinder simply adds a Bumble-like feature alone will not be a big threat to its rival, since the latter has positioned itself over the years to attract a different type of user. But it serves to show the degree of bad blood between these two rivals, since Match Group has effectively taken the position that if it can not have Bumble by itself, it will copy it directly.
