When two people match on Tinder, either person can take the first step and initiate the conversation by sending the first message. That’s how it has always been on Tinder but the popular dating app is now making a fundamental change. It will soon allow women to initiate the conversation, meaning that even if they match with someone, that person won’t be able to message them until they decide to initiate the conversation.
This feature is similar to one already found on another popular dating app called Bumble. By default, women are given the option to choose when to start a conversation on Bumble. Tinder reportedly won’t make it a default setting but will allow female users to decide if they want to enable this new feature or not.
“Giving people the choice versus telling people how to engage is the big difference,” said Match Group CEO Mandy Ginsberg, adding that “Often, women don’t really want the pressure of kicking off the conversation, but if they want it, that’s great.”
Ginsberg also adds that this new feature is “not a reaction to any competitor,” and that it’s the result of several years of behind-the-scenes talks at the company about how Match Group’s dating services can better cater to their female users.
For those who are unaware, Match Group owns several dating services such as OkCupid, Match.com, Tinder, and others. The company is yet to confirm when this new update will be rolled out for Tinder.