Dating app Tinder draws 1.2m in NL

The free iPhone dating-app "Tinder" is getting increasingly popular, not only in the Netherlands, but also abroad, according to founder, Justin Mateen.

The number of Dutch users has increased from 2 percent (330,000) of the population in October last year to 7 percent (1.2 million) to date.

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Tinder is available in 24 languages, and plans are to include China. Every day 500 million profiles are being reviewed worldwide, and 5 million matches are made, according to Mateen, who will not disclose the total number of users. For now the app is free, but possibly the makers will include paid in-app functionalities at some point, such as the option to send virtual gifts or recover rejected people.

Tinder uses existing social networking data from Facebook to find singles in the user's area. The user approves or dismisses the profiles with a heart or a cross. If there's a mutual approval, it registers as a match and a chat session starts.