Tinder App To Launch Premium Features

Popular (NasdaqGS: BPOP - news) hook-up app Tinder is launching a premium service to make money from its huge user base.

The smartphone software lets users swipe through a stream of images of single people located around them - a left swipe blocks the user, while a right one shows interest. If two people swipe right on each other they are matched and can then chat.

But it is virtually ad-free, and the founders of the app have been wrestling with the best way to make money from it.

Chief executive Sean Rad told the Forbes Under 30 Summit in Philadelphia: "We are adding features users have been begging us for. They will offer so much value we think users are willing to pay for them.

"We had to get our product and growth right first. Revenue has always been on the road map."

It is understood the features could include the option of expanding location limits to see users outside of the current set radius.

Mr Rad did not say how much the new services and features will cost, but said they will be introduced next month.

He emphasised that the current basic features will remain free.

More than one billion profiles are swiped every day, with millions of matches made. The company is valued at around $1bn (£620m).