COVID got us to open up. The combination of being stuck at home and the fact that we were all going through the same thing at the same time led folks on Tinder to get chattier than ever. Globally, April 5th was the peak of this chattiness: on that day Tinder members sent an average of 52% more messages vs. the start of lockdowns in early March. Young Spaniards got particularly chatty: by mid-April, Spain’s Gen Z members were sending nearly double the messages each day, compared to the beginning of lockdown, more than any other country in the world. Olé!

Masks became the talk of Tinder. Some spent the early days of quarantine humble bragging about toilet paper and hand sanitizer stockpiles, with bio mentions of both peaking in late March. But talk turned to masks starting in April. Members touted their own mask-wearing habits (‘face mask tan lines’) or looked for shared mask POV, (‘if you wear a mask while jogging, we’re not compatible’). Mask-wearing habits may become the ultimate compatibility test of 2020. 

Quarantine led to creative hacks for hanging out. Social distancing turned us into creative digital daters. Forced to stay home, browsing Tinder became a way to socialize. At its peak, swipe volume* among members under 25 was up 39%. In Italy, swipe volume among Gen Z increased by a whopping 67% - the highest globally. And with most places closed, many on Tinder looked to Animal Crossing to rendezvous. Early quarantine saw a 5x increase in Animal Crossing mentions in bios (Gen Z was 2x Millennials, btw). 

And now Tinder is giving us more to talk about. Nothing drives a conversation like shared interests and experiences. But if you’re looking for more to bond over outside of a pandemic, Tinder has two NEW hacks to amp your profile and your search for a potential match: 

Conversation Starters - To help users better introduce themselves to potential matches, Tinder recently released Prompts, a new in-app feature that lets members respond to questions or finish a sentence for inclusion on their profile. Are you bingeing Unsolved Mysteries? Do you have a great idea for the perfect Animal Crossing date? Let potential matches know and the conversations flow.

• Open the Tinder app and tap the profile icon
• Hit the “Add Media” button below your name/age
• Select the “Create a New Prompt” option
• Tap the dice icon at the upper middle portion of the screen to shuffle the prompt options, or select the list icon on the upper left hand side of the screen to read through all the available prompts.
• Once you land on a prompt you like, type your chosen response into the text bar that says “Type Something”
• Hit “Done”
• Your prompt and response will be added to your profile! Hit the “Preview” button to view it.

• Common Interests - Interests makes it easy to fill out your profile and learn more about potential matches as you browse profiles. Are you a foodie? Trivia expert? Disney fanatic? Add your interests to your profile and let others shoot their shot, especially if they too like basketball/soccer/football. 
  • As a new member, you will be required to add at least 3 interests to your profile during onboarding.
  • If you’re already a member, you can add/edit interests by editing your profile.

Methodology
Data was pulled from March through May 2020
Information included in this campaign represents overall Tinder trends, not the personal information of any specific, identified individual or member. App activity, messaging and bio data are representative of global Tinder activity between March and May 2020. When analysis references ‘at the peak of quarantine’, this refers to the highest point of a metric measured during the March - May 2020 period.
*Swipe volume/swipe activity defined as when a member swipes left or right on a profile.