Apps & Consumer
Tinder expands in-person events to 26 cities by September
Tinder plans to expand its in-person Events feature to 26 cities by September and 75 by year-end, as Match Group reported Tinder's Q2 user declines and a stock drop.
As Gen Z rethinks the point of online dating, Tinder is trying to stay in the game by expanding its in-person events to dozens of new cities by September, the company told analysts on its second-quarter earnings call on Tuesday. Match Group, Tinder’s owner, reported that its flagship app saw revenue decline in the quarter, which sent the company’s stock down by over 10% in after-hours trading — though Match still appeared bullish on its Tinder turnaround efforts.
CEO Spencer Rascoff spoke of narrowing Tinder’s monthly active user declines, which were down 7% in the quarter, slightly better than the prior quarter’s 8% decline. He said he believed daily active user growth would turn positive soon; the app has not reported positive user growth in more than three years.
Match, which also runs Hinge, OkCupid, Match and PlentyOfFish, is planning for a future where online dating itself may become passé. “Our internal research shows that nearly half of singles aged 18 to 29 want to share in-person experiences with people who could become closer connections,” Rascoff told analysts. “Yet, for a generation that grew up online, making that transition into real life can still feel hard. That is why we are doubling down on more social, lower-pressure ways for users to connect in real life.”
Tinder introduced in-person events in March, starting in Los Angeles, through a dedicated Events tab featuring curated local gatherings at speakeasies, bowling alleys, raves and pottery classes. Rascoff said 71% of Tinder’s LA users aged 18 to 24 had engaged with the tab, and the company has featured over 60 events since its debut. The Events tab has since launched in nine more U.S. and European cities, will reach 26 cities globally by the end of September, and is expected to reach 75 cities by the end of 2026. Rascoff said the rollout relies on a low-cost model built primarily around partnerships with event providers, rather than Tinder running events itself.
Why it matters
Rascoff argued the events push could help beyond attendance alone: roughly three in five people who don’t currently use Tinder say the feature would make them more likely to try the app, giving Match a potential lever to reverse years of user decline.