In response to growing fatigue with traditional swiping among younger demographics, Tinder announced the rollout of a new feature called Group Hangouts on Wednesday. The update shifts the platform’s focus toward social, real-world interactions by enabling groups of friends to discover and connect with other groups based on shared activities.
To use the feature, users select an activity and invite at least two friends, creating a group with a minimum of three and a maximum of 15 members. Once established, the group’s profile becomes visible in Tinder’s main card stack, where it can be discovered by other groups. When at least one member from each group expresses interest in the other, they are linked in a shared chat to coordinate plans.
Tinder has built in safety and control mechanisms for the experience. Participants can leave a conversation without dissolving their friend group, and they retain the ability to block or report other users if they feel uncomfortable. The feature is positioned at the top of Tinder’s home screen and is being introduced in phases across the United States and select international markets.
This launch expands upon Tinder’s previous attempts at group-oriented dating, such as last year’s Double Date feature, which allowed pairs to browse other pairs. Claire Watanabe, vice president of product management, noted that the concept was partly inspired by observations of a college women’s volleyball team using Tinder to explore new cities during away games. However, Watanabe observed that current usage tends to involve tighter-knit circles rather than large gatherings.
The move aligns with a broader industry trend toward in-person engagement. Earlier this year, Tinder introduced an Events tab for local activities like pottery classes and bowling, expanding it to dozens of cities by August. Competitor Bumble has also pivoted toward real-life meetups with its new Plans feature.
The launch comes as Tinder works to stabilize its user base amid financial headwinds. The company reported a decline in revenue for the most recent quarter, following consecutive drops in monthly active users, including a 7% decrease in the second quarter and an 8% decline in the prior period.
They just need to fix the algorithm first. My feed is already broken enough without adding more chaos.
Wait, so if one person swipes right, does the whole group get matched? That seems like a nightmare for privacy.
Does this mean I have to coordinate schedules for four people just to go on a date? Sounds exhausting.
Finally! Group dates are way less awkward than one-on-ones. Good move by Tinder.