Imagine a scenario where you work for the marketing department of the largest dating app. Your boss comes to you and says “we need to come up with ways to keep users on the platform and paying money”. Now think about it for a bit, and if you can come up with a way to retain users that is not completely malicious and disengenuous, I would be greatly surprised. As someone who has used the apps for a few years, I really think some shady stuff is going down behind the scenes of these apps that while not blatantly illegal, must surely fall into some catagory of false advertising. Fake matches (it shows a match on your account but not theirs), fake likes (the person never actually swiped right on you or is a dormant account), fake conversations (an AI bot could surely manage this), and fake accounts (full on fake users) are just surface level way to make users feel that bit of dopamine in order to get them to keep using the app. It’s also possible that people are hired by the app to pretend to engage with users. I think it goes even deeper using AI systems to hide messages that pertain to meeting up or setting up a date. How many times have you been vibing with someone but as soon as you go to initiate a date or give them your number, the conversation abrutly ends regardless of whether or not the unmatch you. After years of using these apps, I’m starting to get the feeling this is no coincidence. I think there are systems in place and psychological games being played by the app simply to keep users on the platform. It is literally the antithesis of their business plans if people actually find dates and eventually leave the platform. Nothing is done to remove fake accounts, or accounts that promote other websites or social media, or ways to report someone for ghosting or ignoring messages. Why can’t we report someone for being bad at conversation, wouldnt this be a metric that a lot of people would be interested in? Tons of people have “must make good conversation” in thier profiles, so how about a way to punish the people who arent talking? I would be truly surprised if someone here could come up with a way to get new/keep users without using false advertising techniques. I have a strong feeling that a full blown investigation into these apps is on the horizon.
20 comments
Well duh, that’s literally all social media. They prey on your desperation and loneliness to make a profit (tinder gold etc) it’s how the world works. Instagram does the same thing in a different way, it keeps you engaged by showing you things that will elicit emotions from you which will make you come back.
> I have a strong feeling that a full blown investigation into these apps is on the horizon.
Full blown nothing. There is no legal or ethical reason for these apps not to do anything to increase their subscriber base. Think of how many Tinder scams and sexual assaults have occurred. How many ‘investigations’ have been done to the app. None. Zero. Zilch. If you don’t like how the game is played, don’t play. Dating apps didn’t exist before the internet. I wonder how people met and dated in those days.
Back when I used tinder a few years ago, I accumulated 50-ish likes and just said fuck it and paid for a month of tinder gold. The vast majority of these profiles that liked me were straight up fake, like a single picture of a sunset or some shit, and the rest were people you couldn’t pay me to go out with. Not a single one of those 50 profiles that liked me was someone I was remotely excited to match with.
So yeah, I’d say you’re pretty on point. Fuck dating apps
Yeah they have a vested financial interest in keeping you single
You are absolutely spot on!
This is obvious to me, if I don’t check my dating app in a few hours, I start getting notifications to try to get me to open the app, to quickly find out that there was nothing real there, just a pop up to get me to open the app.
“For entertainment purposes only” – probably somewhere
You’re right. But, it’s still a good way to meet people to go on dates.
But it also seems counter productive. I downloaded the apps, and was willing to pay if they worked. But after a while of no matches other than obvious fakes, I just stopped using them. Not out of any conscious effort, but just because it wasn’t doing anything useful and I have better things to do. And why would I pay for something that clearly doesn’t work? They have lost me as a potential paying customer.
Well yeah that’s the whole point of capitalism. Capitalism doesn’t come up with a solution, it just always looks for opportunities to make a profit. They don’t give a shit about people’s happiness, they just want their money.
But what’s the alternative? I will never give a dime to these apps and just be patient until at some point a random match will be worth my time. Meanwhile I’ll just try to meet people in real life.
You really want an app that punishes people? The way to punish people who don’t make good conversation is not talk to them.
The apps do work for some people (including women who want sex). I think Tinder is one of the best technological advances of the past 15 years. Most of these issues are just supply and demand. There are 200 men for every real woman on Tinder or so it seems, so they need a way to add some filler to enhance the perceived inventory. It must be working for some men or why do they all keep paying for years?
Get off dating apps then
I know someone who works at Hinge and they straight up told me that they delegate the people who best match your preferences to their “roses” system. You get one free rose a week and additional roses start at three for ten dollars… you need one rose to “like” these people.
Tbh, as a woman, I feel like I run into a lot of profiles that are real, but run by people catfishing.
You haven’t discovered anything new we all know that
Dating apps are meant to destroy a man’s confidence, well if you are average looking anyways.
More children are growing up and beginning to date every year and joining dating apps to replace the older users that find a partner and leave the app, people are constantly breaking up and joining/rejoining the app, people are using the app to hookup and not for a serious relationship, etc.
Maybe ur just not vibing with these matches as well as you think you are…I don’t think these apps need a conspiracy to keep people on them. Humans are social creatures and seek out partners and companionship. Dating apps help fill that desire to socialize (and fuck). Dating apps don’t really need to worry too much about retaining specific users. For each 1 person that finds a match on their app and leaves it someone else is signing up/reactivating their account.
I have seen the same if not even more. Many international dating sites are filled with fakes while others are much more real. You must use and spy into several sites to check and cross check before spending on some profile. I found one uncommon name, then found her in social media sites only to learn dating sites are NOT her style. look for the same consecutive hits (girl 1,2 then 3. Repeatedly) from some that means AI or bot. watch for constant requests to keep you wasting to be in video chat some sites also use PRE recorded videos to simulate that she is really there, while some fake steals from you. It is risky at best. The stats list at only 11% chance of even meeting. The entire game needs to be under heavy scrutiny for fraud and abuse.
what if there was an app that does things differently? No swiping, no sending messages and waiting for response, no awkward starter conversations and no need for ice-breaker messages
As a very average woman i gotta say, when i used tinder none of my matches were fake… i guess you only encounter fakes when you’re pretty enough that people feel like they need a fake, better profile to impress you 😅🤣