Tinder: More people pay for dating app despite cost of living crisis

Consumers are spending less on everything from video streaming to food shopping as the cost of living rises, but it appears many are not ready to cut back on dating just yet.

The owner of Tinder says the number of paid subscriptions to the popular dating app rose 7% in July-September.

Match Group, which also owns Hinge and OkCupid, said overall sales rose to $810m (£704m) in the quarter.

But it warned the global economic slowdown was starting to take its toll.

In particular, it said weaker economic conditions are weighing on brands such as Plenty of Fish, which cater to people with lower incomes, while people were starting to make fewer in-app purchases on its platforms.

Tinder, which is one of the world's most popular dating apps with more than 75 million users, saw its sales and user numbers grow in the three months to September.

The firm, which offers a free version of its service, said it had been helped by the return of a feature that lets users swipe right and left from their desktops.

However, although subscriptions for the dating app were up, it said Tinder users were spending less on one-off features such as "Super Likes" and "Boosts" that make your profile more visible.

Match is also forecasting revenue growth at Tinder to be flat in the last three months of the year.

Overall Match, which says hundreds of millions of people have used its apps, said it had 16.5 million paying customers across its brands worldwide in the quarter.

That was up from 16.3 million in the three months to July, although most of the growth came from outside its core US and European markets where numbers actually fell slightly.

It comes after a rocky period for Tinder, which has been hit by a number of management changes, including the departure of its chief executive Renate Nyborg in August after less than a year.

Match said that it continues to look for a new chief executive for Tinder.

It added that it is focused on improving the user experience at Tinder, including for women. This is after the app faced scrutiny over abusive interactions on the service, amid concerns dating apps were being exploited by sexual predators.

The results from Match come after a number of tech giants were hit by fears of a global economic slowdown.

Last week, both Apple and Amazon warned that their sales are being hit by the weakening global economy.

Both cited the rising cost of living as a factor eroding consumer buying power.

Meanwhile, shares in Facebook owner Meta fell more than 20% last week after a downbeat set of results from the tech giant.

Shares in Match, which have been weak this year, rose 16% on Tuesday after its results.