Tinder Face To Face Video Chat Helps You Get Loved-Up In Lockdown
Like pretty much everything that requires meeting in person, dating has been forced to change because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Tinder today is rolling out a new feature that will allow matches to talk face to face without having to meet in person. Unsurprisingly dubbed "Face to Face" this is essentially Tinder's take on video calling with a little extra focus on security so everyone involved can be a little more comfortable video chatting with their matches for the first time.
For now, Face to Face is rolling out as a relatively small-scale test for some users in the US, Brazil, Australia, Spain, Italy, France, Vietnam, Indonesia, Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Peru and Chile. In the United States, only members in Virginia, Illinois, Georgia, and Colorado will have the chance to test it here at the start.
So, what are the differences between Tinder's Face to Face feature and regular video chatting? For starters, you won't be able to use it with one of your matches – Face to Face is only enabled on a match-by-match basis – until you both decide to toggle the feature on. You'll need to tap the video icon in order to opt in for that match and that match only; once they do the same, then you'll be able to start a Face to Face video call with one another, though Tinder assures that your match won't be able to see when you've opted in.
You'll also be able to toggle Face to Face off at any time, so if someone turns out to be a creep (or you just don't feel like video chatting), you can opt out once more. Tinder will also surface a set of ground rules that both parties have to agree to when you start a Face to Face call with someone for the first time, and finally, it'll ask you for feedback on how the call went once it's over.
Unlike something like FaceTime, which minimizes your own video feed to make the other person full screen, the video feeds on Tinder's Face to Face will each take up 50% of the screen. For now, there's no word on when Face to Face will roll out to more users, but Tinder says that it will provide additional updates in the coming weeks. Stay tuned.