My first introduction to Tinder came from my freshman roommate, but even then I managed to stay off the dating app until my junior year. Now, swiping left and right on your peers is practically an elective class, and Tinder’s latest feature is on students’ lists for back-to-school necessities.
On Monday, the company announced a new feature called Tinder U, basically, a dating “filter” for students at four-year, accredited, not-for-profit schools in the U.S. that only shows them other peers and students from surrounding similar schools.
All you need is a .edu email from your university. Once you’re on campus, you’ll be prompted to opt-in to the service and enter in the university email address. It’s very reminiscent of the early days of Facebook when only users with .edu addresses could join. Only students using the Tinder U feature can shed the classism and toggle the “filter” off to show their profile to other people who aren’t students.
Like other exclusive dating apps such as the League, the filter boils single people into intelligence and worth, and as a result, desirability.
Today we launch Tinder U, an experience for students to discover students nearby.
— Norgard (@BrianNorgard) August 21, 2018
If you go to USC you will also be able swipe on UCLA, LMU, UCSB, etc.
1/2 of our users are between the ages of 18 & 24. We think this product will make their time more fun.https://t.co/4SpffUF5L4
“Need a study buddy? Not a problem. Coffee date on the quad? We’ve got you covered,” Tinder’s blog announcement states, completely deadpanning at the suggestion that Gen Z will use Tinder to find anything more than a hookup. “Freshman year and you don’t know a soul? This is your ticket to the coolest crowd on campus. Let’s face it—it doesn’t get any classier than this.”
Like with any other kind of technology designed to better facilitate life’s tedious interactions, the Olds are questioning why college students would need such a dating app feature, or dating apps in the first place. Don’t they have classes and parties where they can meet people? Whatever happened to the good ol’ days of getting someone’s number and never texting them back?
This Tinder U stuff is ridiculous! In my day, you met a girl at freshman orientation, friended her on Facebook, and never talked to her again.
— Patrick Toole (Theta Male) (@TeamGunnShow) August 21, 2018
Tinder officially announced its college dating service Tinder U, and wow, just writing about it made me miss college and house parties. u don’t need an app to date in college!!!! https://t.co/diEs19cibb pic.twitter.com/rTlRIPee8G
— Ashley Carman (@ashleyrcarman) August 21, 2018
https://twitter.com/jeongau/status/1032034424303611904
https://twitter.com/emiliorojas/status/1032148235027079169
https://twitter.com/bstefanowitz/status/1031934560286728192
Tinder U? For "study buddies?" Doesn't Tinder already have this feature? All you have to do is select 18-24 years old in preferences. Will be curious to see how successful this is.https://t.co/bEqW2TO1K3
— David J. Roaché (@davidjroache) August 21, 2018
oh boi. This makes me sad – isn't that part of the fun of Uni?? just go out!! meet people!! #TinderU no thank U ~@meredithshaw https://t.co/eubMdfkB7b
— CHUM 104.5 (@Chum1045) August 21, 2018
Meanwhile, the Gen Z’ers are kind of loving the idea of being able to swipe through a series of people without running into “townies.”
https://twitter.com/spookymichellle/status/1032057655232286721
But, they’re also realizing that running into people they’ve rejected on campus may not be worth the benefits of Tinder U.
https://twitter.com/maetesh_/status/1032252463615803392
Others are more worried about the specifications of Tinder U’s “filter.” All you need is proximity to campus and a .edu email address, meaning that anyone who previously attended or taught at the university could easily hop on the feature. Additionally, Tinder isn’t currently verifying current enrollment, nor age (though, college students aren’t only 18-22, and users would theoretically still be able to set their age preference even while using Tinder U).
“Tinder U” is now a thing, but back in 2006 it was called “creepy upperclassmen messaging me on my brand new Facebook page”
— shannon (@s_kowal) August 22, 2018
Dot edu email confirmation loop now, we will look to improve this over time
— Norgard (@BrianNorgard) August 21, 2018
https://twitter.com/audreywatters/status/1031939253264035840
Unfortunately, Tinder U is only available on iOS devices for now. While that doesn’t help Android users get their campus swipe game on, Apple users who are sticklers for green text bubbles are in luck.
H/T Twitter