Tinder’s New Feature Made It This Week’s Top Grossing iOS App

When it comes to generating revenue, if you’re a ‘fast-casual’, app-based dating service like Tinder — beyond the usual monthly or annual subscription fees, options for monetization are understandably scant. However it appears that Tinder has finally found the perfect way to gouge users for even more money while they ‘look for love’ — and the company is calling it Tinder Gold.

According to The Verge, it turns out that after years of trying to monetize the Tinder platform beyond monthly subscriptions, all the company really had to do was start allowing users to pay additional money to see “who exactly swiped right on their profile without swiping right back.” And so they did.

The report claims that Tinder has actually been testing the new feature, dubbed ‘Like You’, in select markets for months now, flaunting it as a cornerstone of the new Tinder Gold upgrade option. On Tuesday of this week, the social-dating company officially brought its new Tinder Gold upgrade option to the U.S. for $9.99/mo. Tinder Plus subscribers the option to add a host of additional features to their subscription for an additional $4.99/mo.

And that’s when things got interesting. When all (or at least a damn-good portion of) Tinder’s U.S-based ‘Plus’ subscribers learned that for just $4.99/mo. more they could finally, at long last, see who swiped right, they pounced. And Tinder skyrocketed to the top of the App Store’s ‘top grossing app’ list.

Tinder had been experimenting with several ways to boost revenue prior to entertaining Tinder Gold, such as by offering users various ‘a-la-carte’ upgrade options for purchase. Previous offerings like ‘Super Like’, which highlighted a user’s profile with a blue star if someone mutually swiped right, and ‘Tinder Boost’, which placed your profile at the helm of all when other users browsed for matches, were received with mixed reviews. However it appears that most Tinder users who simply wanted to see who swiped right were actually willing to pay for the privilege.

The company claims that Tinder Gold will be offered to Android OS users beginning next month, the report added.