Tinder Leans on Gen Z Insights to Shape Product Strategy

Match Group CEO Spencer Rascoff has highlighted how Tinder is drawing directly on the perspectives of its youngest employees as it works to refine the app’s direction. In a company blog post this week, Rascoff detailed a recent session with Tinder’s Gen Z Employee Resource Group (ERG), describing it as one of the most substantive strategy discussions he has had in months.

The group, made up of around 45 employees, offered candid feedback on how Tinder should evolve. Among the themes that emerged were calls to simplify the app, reduce intrusive pop-ups, and address concerns over user behavior and incomplete profiles before layering on new features. One employee was quoted as saying: “Throwing more features into the app won’t turn Tinder around. Fix creepy behavior and incomplete profiles first.”

That feedback, Rascoff wrote, reflects a broader generational shift. At The Atlantic Festival earlier this month, he spoke about how Gen Z approaches technology and online dating, noting that younger users are increasingly looking for experiences that feel authentic, safe, and lower-pressure compared to previous models of swipe-based matchmaking.

These insights are already shaping Tinder’s product roadmap. The company is investing in features that highlight more of a person’s identity beyond photos, while also experimenting with social experiences such as “Double Date,” designed to make meeting new people less intimidating.

The emphasis on listening to internal employee groups marks a notable development in Match Group’s turnaround narrative. While ERGs have traditionally been seen as cultural or community-building initiatives, Rascoff suggested they can also serve as drivers of innovation by providing unfiltered insights from employees who represent the demographics most active on the platform.

Tinder has faced mounting pressure to adapt amid shifting user expectations and competition from apps like Hinge and Bumble. For Rascoff, the latest feedback session reinforced that the company’s recovery depends less on adding flashy features and more on addressing fundamental issues of usability and trust.

“The turnaround isn’t about piling on features or flashy campaigns,” Rascoff wrote. “It’s about rethinking the product experience through the lens of those who use it most, and acting on the insights that matter.”