This is a paid option that pushes your profile to the top of the queue of every Tinder user nearby for 30 minutes, making it much more likely you’ll get matches over the next half hour. A single boost costs ?3.89, so they’re not cheap, but you can get them at a discount by buying packs of five or ten. You can find the Boosts by tapping the purple lightning bolt icon.
Explore is a newer section of the Tinder app, only introduced in 2021 – though it includes some slightly older features. You’ll find it to the right of the main swipe tab on the bottom bar.
The Explore section gives you new ways to find matches beyond simply swiping. It includes limited time events like Vibes and Hot Takes – more on them below – but also ways to access more focussed queues of potential matches.
The first is by interest – you’ll see stacks of users based on terms like ‘Foodies’, ‘Thrill Seekers’, or ‘Early Birds’, giving you the chance to only swipe through users that match specific interests or personalities.
You’ll also have the option to only swipe through profiles that have gone through photo verification in case you’re worried about getting catfished. You’ll still see all users in your main feed, but at any time can go through exclusively verified users through Explore. If you don’t see this option, it may just be because you aren’t verified yet yourself – so get on that.
Another option is Music Mode. Available only to users who’ve enabled Tinder’s integration with Spotify, this mode plays people’s Anthem – the song they’ve chosen to ‘define them’ – automatically when you land on their profile, giving you an immediate sense of your musical compatibility. You’ll have to have picked your own Anthem for your profile if you want to browse others’ pages with Music Mode enabled though.
Only officially introduced in 2021, Vibes is a silly name for a pretty straightforward features: quizzes. Every now and then users will get a notification that a Vibes event has started in their area, and you’ll also see it in the Explore feed. If you take part, you’ll get to answer a series of personality questions – all with a slightly silly tone – but you only get 48 hours to do so.
If you decide to Vibe, your answers will appear on your profile for the next 72 hours, and they’ll also pop up in the chat window when you’re talking to someone else who took part, giving you a quick ‘n easy conversation starter.
Hot lesbian hookup Takes are pretty similar to Vibes, but there are a few key differences. Available worldwide for English language users, they’re available between 6pm and midnight every day, found in Explore.
If you take part, you’ll see a Hot Take prompt pop up. Let your opinion be known, and you’ll be thrown into a chat with someone else who answered the same prompt – though they won’t have necessarily opted for the same answer.
The catch is that chats are timed, so you’ll have to act fast to impress your chat partner and figure out if you’re a match – otherwise they’ll be gone forever.
2020 brought with it one major addition to Tinder: video chat. Dubbed Face to Face, the new option is designed to offer a Covid-safe way to chat directly to new matches without ever leaving the Tinder app. Plus, it offers a few safety features you won’t get if you just switch straight to WhatsApp.