Bumble’s approach to dating has always been to empower women by letting them choose who to talk to—and it looks like Tinder is now following in its rival’s footsteps.
Tinder is working on a new “women talk first” initiative that allows women to choose if they’d like to message their match first. Up to now, male-identifying matches could message women without any settings stopping them.
The popular dating app was launched in 2012 and is now owned by Match Group Inc.
“Often, women don’t really want the pressure of kicking off the conversation, but if they want it, that’s great,” Match Group CEO Mandy Ginsberg told MarketWatch. “Giving people the choice versus telling people how to engage is the big difference.”
The app’s initiative will give women the option to turn the setting on or off, so they only have to message their matches first when they feel like it. With the setting turned on, both men and women have to swipe “yes” before a conversation can start, so women will be able to swipe without any worry of unwanted advances or messages they aren’t ready for.
The idea of empowering women to talk first is inherent to dating app Bumble’s identity. The company furthered its mission by offering women the opportunity to network with Bumble Bizz and make new friends with Bumble BFF. The app was created by Whitney Wolfe Herd, who co-founded Tinder before she left the company and sued for sexual harassment and discrimination in 2014.
Ginsberg said Tinder’s new feature, which appears to be only for women seeking men, is “not a reaction to any competitor.”
Tinder has not yet announced a launch date for the new setting.