It’s like “pay-to-win” but for online dating.
Pay to Win
Popular dating app Tinder has confirmed that it’s working on a $500-a-month subscription that’s tentatively called “Tinder Vault,” Fast Company reports, and we can’t fathom why anybody would possibly want to shell out that much money for such a feature.
Exactly what the idea will entail is hazy, but it seems overwhelmingly likely that it’s basically a way for people with lots of money but zero charisma to try to get ahead — a gross way to bring the concept of “pay-to-win” to an area of the internet that’s already plagued with harassment, particularly for women.
Expensive Date
To be fair, it’s still unclear when or if the company will ever roll out the feature. One obstacle: getting it out of the door without seriously pissing off the rest of the user base might prove tricky.
Tinder’s parent company Match Group is already in a precarious financial position, having posted its first-ever quarterly decline at the beginning of last year.
Now, the company is looking to reinvent itself as a place that’s not only meant for hookups but longer-lasting relationships as well.
“We’re really looking at a whole range of additional value-add services to Tinder overall,” the company’s chief product officer, Mark Van Ryswyk, told Fast Company.
Tinder Vault, for instance, is meant to entice “high intent members” — read: folks, who are particularly desperate to get laid — and give them a leg up on finding a future partner.
Special Status
While the company hasn’t confirmed exactly what the Vault features will entail, screenshots posted to Reddit and spotted by Gizmodo suggest users who shell out an obscene amount of cash could enjoy perks including getting a “special status” and a “priority pass.”
The screenshots also suggest Vault users can make use of a “personalized concierge service” that would presumably act as a pick-up artist wingman.
The dating app has already monetized online dating by allowing people to pay for things like limitless swipes, highlighted likes, and getting their profiles seen by more users.
Tinder Vault — if the company ends up choosing to launch such a feature — could become the epitome of that trend.
More on Tinder: Tinder Is Adding an Option to Run Background Checks on Potential Dates