Tinder has launched a new feature for university students looking to meet their soulmate during their studies.
Tinder Uni comes after the dating app’s research found that more than half (53 per cent) of UK graduates met a current or previous partner while studying.
The feature can be found in Tinder Explore and will verify university email addresses to ensure only current students can use it.
Users can find the new service by opening the Tinder app and adding their university to their profile through the “Education” tab.
Once they have done that, they can “apply for Tinder Uni” through the app, where they will be prompted to verify their student email address, which must end with ac.uk.
After they have “officially enrolled” to Tinder Uni, their university’s colours will appear across their profile to show other members where they study.
According to a survey conducted by Opinium on behalf of Tinder, involving 1,000 18 to 25-year-olds, nearly three-quarters said they are “ready to mingle”.
Laura Wilkinson-Rea, senior director of communications in the UK at Tinder, pointed to official figures from the Department for Education (DfE) that 2022 is set to be “a record year for students going to university, 425,800 to be precise” as a reason for the launch.
A 2020 YouGov survey found that, despite the rise in popularity of dating apps, most people meet their partner offline. Nearly a fifth (18 per cent) of 18 to 24-year-olds first saw their significant others at university, with a similar proportion meeting their at school.
However, older adults (45 to 54-year-olds) were more likely to meet through work (22 per cent), by chance (19 per cent), or through friends(16 per cent).
The government’s data from August shows that, of the students heading to university this year, nearly 180,000 18-year-olds had their places confirmed, the largest number ever on record for an exam year.
It also shows that a record number of 18-year-olds from a disadvantaged background are furthering their studies, with gap between the most and least advantaged narrowing to a record low.
The gap narrowed from 2.29 in 2019 to 2.26 in 2022, and from 2.32 in 2021.
