Tinder is set to include ads for the first time, as IAC’s popular dating app looks to capitalise on the boom in mobile matchmaking, according to a news report.
The free dating app lets users browse profiles of people near them, swiping left to reject them and right to indicate interest. When two people have swiped right on one another’s profiles, they can chat and (if that goes well) arrange to meet.
In February, the company said its users were swiping 750m profiles a day, generating 10m successful matches. Meanwhile AppData suggests Tinder had 4.2m daily active users in April 2014.
In its latest company statement, parent company IAC executives said it will begin experimenting with monetization ideas “soon”.
“I think you’ll see us begin to monetise it soon, but I think that will be more in terms of nailing the business model as opposed to a push for maximum revenue,” said Greg Blatt, chairman of IAC’s Match group, which owns dating services Match.com and OKCupid as well as Tinder.
“It’s certainly big enough that you can start to monetise it now, but I think there’s priorities. This is a small sort of startup-like team that we’re building, and everything you do comes at the expense of something else.”
One obvious idea, Blatt told analysts today, would be to run ads on the service. “The nature of the Tinder user experience presents itself with real opportunities for native advertising that certain of our other products don’t,” he said.
IAC’s plans for advertising within Tinder indicate a possibly-shifting strategy within the company on how best to make money from its popular dating app.
View the report here
