Dating app Bumble has introduced a new feature it’s calling SuperSwipe, which is basically a clone of Tinder’s Super Like. Its purpose is to signal a greater level of interest in a particular profile you come across that stands out from the swiping masses. Instead of just thumbing them to the right, you can now tap the new heart icon on a user’s profile to perform a SuperSwipe. Then, when your profile comes up at some point in their own killing-time swipe session, they’ll see a little indicator that shows you went so far as to SuperSwipe them.
Do SuperSwipes and Super Likes reek of desperation? Of “hey, look at me”? Are we better off playing it cool, eliminating any extra influencing factors, and sticking with the core left and right swipes? I’ll leave that debate to others. Tinder founder and chairman Sean Rad once said the Super like “is more like going up to someone and saying hello.” I don’t quite follow. But that’s what he said.
Where Bumble goes a little astray is with the new coins system it’s introducing alongside SuperSwipe. Yes, dating apps are moving to the same “currency” as the games on your smartphone — probably in hopes that you’ll lose track of how many real dollars you’re spending. Each SuperSwipe costs one coin. You can buy a single coin for 99 cents, 5 coins for $3.99, 10 coins for $6.99, and 20 coins for $14.99. Sure, you save buying in bulk, and this is probably good for Bumble as a business, but it still feels like we’re overcomplicating this stuff. Oh well. It’s not nearly as bad as Tinder charging people different prices for the same “Plus” tier.
According to TechCrunch, Bumble’s coins will extend to other features coming in the future. One of those will supposedly put you at the top (or near it) of someone else’s swiping queue. That sounds similar to Tinder’s Boost function, which displays you to nearby users at a higher frequency rate than normal for a short period of time.