We did a mystery shop of Tinder Plus to find out more about the app’s prices in Australia, setting quotas based on gender, sexuality, location and age group (18–29, 30–49 and 50+).
The price difference between the lowest and the highest price was huge: $6.99 for a queer female under 30 in a metropolitan area and $ for a straight male over 50 in a metropolitan area, for one month. On average, people who were over the age of 30 were offered prices that were more than double the prices given to those who were under 30, like in the US.
However, there were also large price variations within these age groups, ranging from $6.99 to $ in the under-30 cohort and $ to $ in the over-30 one. We didn’t see a pattern that could explain the differences.
Privacy
To use the app, you must sign up with your Facebook account or your phone number. If you use your Facebook account, this then forms the basis of your Tinder profile. According to Tinder, this is to ensure matches are made with people who share interests and common friends. That being said, Tinder doesn’t post to your Facebook profile, so if you’re concerned about friends getting updates about your use of the site, at least on this point, you can rest easy.
Tinder also gives itself access to the content of your chats when you’re using the app and may share your personal data with third parties for advertising purposes. Continue reading “This suggests Tinder is using other, unknown factors to personalise its prices further”