UX #10: How Tinder eliminated the fear of rejection

Written By Samaya Sinha

How Tinder eliminated the fear of rejection. Tinder was a master at creating UX designs based on heavy emotional pain points. 

The founders of Tinder studied students at college campuses and noticed that after freshman year, friend groups were formed and students stuck to the groups that they already knew, fearing rejection if they were to venture out to make new friends.

So Tinder created a profile matching system where two people would only match if they both liked each other’s profiles, and the interest was mutual. This led to widespread adoption of the Tinder app on college campuses, spreading from the most social groups on campus (fraternities and sororities) to less social ones.

Tinder’s UX is a masterclass in social engineering and the psychology behind how we connect. However, as more copycat dating apps emerge in the market, there’s also a clear dark side to eliminating the fear of rejection— aggressive texts, a false sense of intimacy, and too much gamification leading to a less than intentional matching culture. 

So how might we re-design the dark side of apps like Tinder? Would re-introducing some fear of rejection be a good thing?

My name is Samaya and I’m your UX woman. Follow our Substack to get UX design challenges delivered to your inbox! I like to spill the tea from my 10-year career in UX, working for brand names like Hulu, Marvel, Meta and more. Follow UX Woman for more UX design psychology. We’re creating a 100-day series on famous UX designs from big brands and why they work. 

We offer UX courses for women breaking into tech. Don’t be a stranger! Book a 20-minute call with us  to see if we could be the right fit for you in terms of UX career coaching. Our 7-Month UX Design Accelerator covers:

  • 2 months of UX research and business strategy curriculum

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  • After that, we provide group coaching for life, held every 2 weeks to hold you accountable during your UX job search so that you don’t lose momentum.

Samaya Sinha https://ideatelabs.co
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UX #8: How Netflix's inclusive design scaled globally during a recession