Tinder introduced a feature called Group Hangouts that allows clusters of friends to find and match with other groups, the company announced Wednesday. The tool is meant to move dating toward shared activities and group socializing rather than one-on-one interactions. It is available at the top of Tinder's main home screen and is rolling out in phases in the U.S. and select markets, with more markets expected later.
To use Group Hangouts, a user picks an activity and invites at least two friends, giving a group a minimum of three members. The group's profile can then appear in Tinder's main card stack, where it can be found by other groups. Groups can hold a maximum of 15 people, and members can browse other groups and like ones that interest them.
When at least one person from each group likes the other, the two groups are connected in a shared chat so everyone can make plans together. Tinder is also giving users control over how the experience unfolds. Members can exit a conversation without leaving the friend group, and they can block or report another participant if they become uncomfortable.
Claire Watanabe, Tinder's VP of product management, said one inspiration was a college women's volleyball team that created a Tinder profile while traveling for away games so it could explore a new town and meet locals. In practice, she said, groups are staying fairly tight, with most people hanging out with their close circle of friends rather than organizing something large.
Group Hangouts extends Tinder's earlier work on group-oriented dating. Last year the company launched Double Date, which lets users pair with a friend and browse other pairs. Group Hangouts increases the number of people involved and shifts the experience away from a traditional one-on-one date toward a social outing.
Tinder has been steering users toward real-world experiences for some time. In March, it launched an Events tab for discovering local activities such as speakeasies, bowling, and pottery classes, and this month it expanded its in-person events to dozens of additional cities. Bumble is moving in a similar direction, with a new Plans feature designed to connect people in real life in more casual, group-oriented settings.
The push comes as Tinder works to re-engage users during a difficult stretch. Tinder's revenue declined in the latest quarter, and monthly active users fell 7% in the second quarter, after an 8% decline in the prior quarter.
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