Tinder unveils new Matchmaker feature for friends and family

Tinder has finally rolled out a new feature that nearly half of users have been begging for, making modern dating a team sport.

Pulling up your dating app profile after a few wines and swiping through potential suitors with friends is a time-honoured tradition.

Now, Tinder has come up with a way to ensure five of you no longer need to gather around a single phone screen, creating a tool called Matchmaker.

The feature allows users to offer up to 15 friends or family members 24 hours to scrutinise their possible matches.

While they can view the profiles and make suggestions without having an account of their own, fortunately the power to swipe left or right remains with the user (sorry, Mum).

Tinder Matchmaker allows users to offer up to 15 friends, family members or guardians 24 hours to scrutinise their possible matches. Picture: Tinder

Data gathered by the app found the tool is well and truly needed – nearly half (49 per cent) of users have swiped for a friend and had their friends swipe for them, and 24 per cent of young singles said they’re most inclined to swipe on Tinder when they’re with their friends.

Over half (56 per cent) admitted to having asked their friend for advice on profile pictures and bios for dating apps.

“For years, singles have asked their friends to help find their next match on Tinder, and now we’re making that so easy with Tinder Matchmaker,” Tinder chief marketing officer Melissa Hobley said.

“Tinder Matchmaker brings your circle of trust into your dating journey and helps you see the possibilities you might be overlooking from the perspective of those closest to you.”

The feature is available in Australia, the UK, US, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, Spain, Thailand and Vietnam, and will be rolled out to other countries over time.

“Tinder Matchmaker brings your circle of trust into your dating journey.” Picture: Martin Bureau/AFP

Earlier this month, the app took further action to ensure its users’ safety in Australia and New Zealand with the trial of an ID and photo verification feature.

The tool, which focuses on date of birth and likeness, serves “as an additional step to help users confirm the authenticity of profiles”, Tinder Australia announced in a statement.

Available to Aussies and Kiwis, the “enhanced process” requires a video selfie and a valid driver’s licence or passport, and will check to see whether the face in the video selfie matches both the photo on the ID and those on the person’s profile.

Potential matches will be able to see if a user has completed both ID and photo verification, through the display of a blue checkmark on their profile. If only photo verification is completed, they’ll receive a blue camera icon badge; if only ID verification is completed, a blue ID icon badge will appear.