If you’ve been even remotely awake in social media over the past year, you’ve no doubt been introduced to the Tinder matchmaking app and service. While it is enormously popular, the service still possesses quite a few options that not every user is aware of, including those features attached to the paid version–Tinder Plus. If you’ve been curious about what you’re getting with the paid version of Tinder, look no further than the Apppamatix review of the service. We’ll be taking a retrospective look at Tinder Plus and how well it’s been received by the online matchmaking community, while also examining the features that are exclusive to it. Even if you’ve never used Tinder, there’s compelling stuff to be discovered on the subject!
I can still remember when online dating wasn’t traditionally accepted as a normal thing. Partners who found each other online were almost always viewed as “being on a timer,” while everyone waited for the relationship to self-destruct.
Oh, how we have learned and grown over the years. Not only is online dating perfectly fine, it’s actually an extremely beneficial use of our interconnectedness and online culture. Tinder has just been a testament to this fact, evidenced by its booming popularity and widespread use. “Swipe left” has practically become an interchangeable verb on every social media platform for “passing on a prospect.” It’s even developed a widespread meme culture that, while seeming critical of the service and the proliferation of awful people that occasionally populate it, has actually helped Tinder to become more popular and accepted.
There’s a reason that it has such an iconic place in online matchmaking culture, and that’s due to how seamlessly it integrates with the rest of our social media that we engage with on a daily basis. Facebook notwithstanding (which you have to use if you want to use Tinder), it’s practically the same as using any other social media app on your smartphone, and for that reason, Tinder tends to see just as much use as those apps.
It’s also been aided by the fact that it makes a sharp divergence from the way that other matchmaking services operate. Rather than isolating its users through various tiered pay walls, Tinder is wide open, instead. You can download it for free, and use almost every feature within the app as long as you have a Facebook account. Competing matchmaking services–all of which have their own apps, of course–are going to cost you if you want to use them. This seems like a double-edged sword, at first, but the fact of the matter is it’s pretty consistently come out in Tinder’s favor.
Other matchmaking services market their exclusivity as a good thing, that eventually helps people to find romantic partners more effectively. Tinder seems to want you to see everyone, to better help you make up your own mind and otherwise stay out of your way. While other matchmaking apps wither beneath the scrutiny of people who aren’t succeeding with them, Tinder is only becoming more popular.
However, in one of the app’s more recent updates, a paid version of Tinder was introduced alongside the free option, creating a bit of a shakeup in peoples’ perception of the popular dating app. For our purposes today, we’re going to take a look at the paid version exclusively and show you why you just might want to consider using it, if you’re going to treat Tinder as a serious contender for finding romantic hookups.
Paid Tinder: What’s Different?
First things first: let’s clear the air and say that there isn’t a huge amount of difference between Tinder and Tinder Plus when it comes to features. The only major additions are Rewind and Passport, but they are potentially awesome features if you find them appealing. Let’s examine each of them.
Rewind
One of the most frequent complaints that users had about the Tinder experience was how easy it was to swipe left on someone accidentally, only because that gem of a profile was nestled amidst a great big pile of nope. Until the Rewind feature was added, there was no way for users to return to that profile and correct their mistake; they simply had to live with the consequences of it. (That’ll teach you to slow down, right?)
The addition of Rewind was only controversial in that it was added to Tinder Plus, rather than the free version of Tinder. Therefore, if you’ve ever found yourself in a situation similar to the one described above, consider this a great big positive reason to switch to the paid version of Tinder. You’ll only be able to rewind to the most recent person that you swiped left on, but if you’ve just caught yourself after making that mistake, consider the relief that you’ll be feeling when you know that you can undo it.
As of now, there is no sign that this feature is being brought to the free version of the app, so there truly isn’t much reason to sit around waiting for it. This is probably one of the largest selling points of Tinder Plus, and if I had to guess, this feature alone has converted a majority of users from the free app to the paid version.
Passport
While Passport sounds good on paper, I’ve had difficulty finding any documentation or literature confirming that it’s been a big selling point for Tinder Plus. Essentially, Passport is meant to open up the entire world to your Tinder browsing experience (much as the name of this feature might suggest.)
Using Tinder Passport, you can set your location to anywhere in the world, and start swiping from that location rather than the one you’re at. The idea behind this is that you’ll be able to “swipe before you travel” so that you can browse the local prospects of an area before arriving. For the jet-setting traveler who’s looking for romance elsewhere in the world, this is an amazing feature. For the rest of the world that has to relegate their traveling to those precious paid-vacation days, it’s somewhat less exciting.
Other Features
There are a couple of other sticking points that are expanded version of the features already in the free version of Tinder. Firstly, you’ll have the ability to “swipe right” as many times as you want to, being a Tinder Plus subscriber. In this way, the platform is opened up for Plus members far, far more than it is for free users. It has had the unfortunate circumstance of making the base Tinder app looks less like the “standard” version and more like the “cheap” version.
Further complicating this is the presence of advertising on Tinder, which Plus users are also able to circumvent. This is a less offensive differentiation between the two, primarily because ad support is what helps to keep the free version of the app afloat.
Finally, we can’t end this review without talking about the Tinder Plus pricing structure, especially since it’s a bit…weird. If you’re under $30, it will cost you $9.99. If you’re over 30, it’s going to cost you $19.99.
I know. Take a moment to soak that in.
Now, the official reason given for this is that younger users are more often strapped for cash, and can’t afford the more expensive entry price into the paid version of the app. This isn’t actually false, and younger users will absolutely benefit from this particular pricing structure. However, there’s an unspoken consequence of this setup that’s too glaringly obvious not to mention, and Tinder users have definitely noticed it.
$9.99 is a very attractive price point that’s being pitched to a younger crowd. $19.99 is significantly higher, and it’s being reserved for the 30+ crowd. Many people have taken this as a clear sign that Tinder wants to limit its crowd of users to young people as much as it possibly can, but this is all speculation. However, that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t inform your decision to upgrade to Tinder Plus, and if you’re over 30 years of age, there’s currently no way to circumvent that doubling of price required to use the exact same app that younger people are paying $9.99 for.
Is Tinder Plus for Me?
Ultimately, this question can only be answered by balancing the above information against your own needs. It’s important to know about the features you’ll be getting with Tinder Plus, as well as the amount of money that you’ll be paying. It also will depend upon how much you currently use Tinder, and more so, how much you plan to use Tinder after you’ve upgraded. If you’re looking for a long-term relationship, it might be worth that extra fee to broaden your search results and get a better view of the field, so to speak. If you’re only looking for casual hookups, the question becomes a lot more complicated.
We’d be remiss in not delivering a verdict, though, since this is a proper review of Tinder Plus. As it exists, this reviewer gives Tinder Plus a pass. The significantly disparate price points depending on the age of the user are a huge turn-off, and as it stands, the number of additional features that you’d be getting aren’t worth $9.99, let alone $19.99. Perhaps in the future, when more additions are made to the Tinder Plus platform, that can change. For now, I think you’ll be one happy romancer if you stick to the free version of Tinder.
Agree? Disagree? Let’s hear your thoughts about our review of Tinder Plus in the comments below! If you’ve been using the paid version of the app recently, we’d love to hear your feedback.