Tinder revealed last year that it was testing a photo-selection feature that uses AI to help users choose the best photos for their dating profiles. Now dubbed “Photo Selector,” the Match-owned dating app officially launched the feature on Wednesday. It’s now available to all users in the U.S. and will roll out to international markets later this summer.
Tinder’s AI Photo Selector leverages facial detection technology and works as one would expect. Users upload a selfie in the Tinder app, and the photo creates a unique facial geometry that helps the AI identify a person’s face and pull up photos in their camera roll. Google’s and Apple’s photo apps (and many other photo apps) use facial recognition tech to identify people in images.
The feature then curates a collection of 10 selfies that it believes will perform well on a person’s profile. The AI is trained to select photos based on Tinder’s “learnings about what makes a good profile image,” a company spokesperson explained to TechCrunch, such as lighting and composition. The company also recommends fewer group pictures, as it could confuse matches about whose profile it is.
“The AI was trained on a diverse dataset to ensure inclusivity, accuracy, and to account for various demographics, ensuring that it aligns with our DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) standards,” the spokesperson added, explaining that the AI is also trained to filter out photos that violate guidelines, such as nudes.
The goal of the new feature is to save users the hassle of sifting through their gallery for selfies and hopefully eliminate uncertainty when choosing the best photo. According to a recent survey commissioned by Tinder, 68% of participants expressed that an AI photo selection feature would be helpful, and 52% reported having trouble selecting profile images.
“Today, as hundreds of millions of people use AI daily, we feel excited to leverage this technology to support our users in an area we’ve heard directly from them is one of the hardest parts of online dating,” Tinder CEO Faye Iosotaluno said in a statement.
Iosotaluno also emphasized that the feature is intended to assist users in decision-making rather than the AI making decisions for them. “Our vision is to use AI as an enabler in the dating journey… Our commitment to our users is clear and equally applies to our view of AI: at Tinder, we use innovative technologies to create a safe space for people to make authentic connections,” she said.
Parent company Match has increased its investment in generative AI in recent years. At a Reuters event last year, Tinder’s CPO, Mark Van Ryswyk, suggested that users could potentially be able to use generative AI to write their dating bios. In August 2023, the company appointed Zynga’s former head of growth, Mark Kantor, as vice president of innovation, who leads a team of engineers focusing on generative AI solutions.
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