Dating shouldn't be a solo experience, but for a long time, that's what the app-first model made it. That's the thinking behind Tinder's Events, which we're now expanding beyond LA into 9 new cities (NYC, Dallas, Denver, Kansas City, Phoenix, Berlin, Munich, Zurich, Geneva), with 16 more on the way by September.
We've successfully partnered with venues and event organizers people already love (rooftop yoga, hiking, brewery meetups) and layered Tinder on top: see who else is going, meet up in person, connect afterward.
The early signal is strong: 71% of 18-24-year-olds on Tinder have engaged with the Events tab, and most people bring friends along. It's rare for someone to show up alone, actually. People are reconsidering what a dating app can even be.
I still think about our first Pickleball event. You're paired up with a doubles partner you've never played with, elbow to elbow, and within a minute, you've completely forgotten you found this on Tinder. You're just diving for the ball, laughing, high-fiving, fully in the moment. That's the kind of real, unscripted connection we're chasing. Meet someone or not, you walk away having had a genuinely good time.
We're doubling down on that: more formats, more cities, more ways to spark authentic connection out in the world, not just on a screen.
Grateful to be building this with a great team. Thanks, Samantha Murphy Kelly, for such a great conversation on all of this. https://lnkd.in/g7ZJehy9
