Tinder adapts to a social, IRL courting future with ‘Group Hangouts’ characteristic

As younger users grow increasingly tired of the endless scroll, dating apps are scrambling to adapt to a generation that increasingly wants dating to feel more social and rooted in real-world experiences.

The latest example comes from Tinder, which on Wednesday announced the launch of “Group Hangouts,” a new feature that lets groups of friends discover, match, and make plans with other groups around shared activities.

With Group Hangouts, users start by choosing an activity and inviting at least two friends to join. Once the group has at least three members, its profile can appear in Tinder’s main card stack, where it can be discovered by other groups. There can be a maximum of 15 people in a group.

Users can then browse other groups and ‘like’ one that catches their interest. If at least one person from each group likes the other, the groups are connected in a shared chat, giving everyone a chance to make plans together. 

Notably, Tinder is giving users some control over how the experience plays out. Members can leave a conversation without leaving the friend group, and they can block or report another participant if they become uncomfortable.

The feature is available at the top of Tinder’s main home screen and is rolling out in phases in the U.S. and select markets, with additional markets expected to follow. 

Group Hangouts builds on Tinder’s earlier push into group-oriented dating. Last year, the company launched “Double Date,” which lets users pair up with a friend and browse other pairs. Group Hangouts takes that concept a step further, expanding the number of people involved and shifting the experience away from the traditional one-on-one date toward something more like a social outing.

“One inspiration was seeing a college women’s volleyball team make a Tinder profile while traveling for away games, so they could explore a new town and meet locals,” Claire Watanabe, VP product management, told TechCrunch in an email. “In practice, we’re seeing groups stay pretty tight, most people are hanging out with their close circle of friends, not organizing something huge.” 

Tinder has been pushing users toward more real-world experiences for some time. Back in March, the company launched an Events tab that lets users discover local activities like speakeasies, bowling, and pottery classes. This month, Tinder expanded its in-person events to dozens of additional cities.

Bumble is moving in a similar direction. Its new “Plans” feature is designed to connect people IRL in more casual, group-oriented settings.

The push comes as Tinder works to re-engage users amid a challenging stretch for the dating app. Tinder’s revenue declined in the latest quarter, while monthly active users fell 7% in the second quarter, which followed an 8% decline in the previous quarter.