U.S. Dating-App Usage Slips, With Time Spent Down 7% in Q3

A recent mobile-app data snapshot from analytics firm Apptopia indicates that the U.S. dating-app market is under pressure, ahead of earnings reports from major players such as Match Group and Bumble Inc.. According to the data, the combined “Total Time Spent” across leading dating apps has declined in three of the past four quarters and fell by approximately 7 % year-over-year in Q3.

Within this landscape, individual app performances diverge. The report covers three major platforms: Tinder, Bumble and Hinge. Tinder’s daily-active-user (DAU) count reportedly declined by about 5.4 %, while Bumble registered a larger DAU drop of approximately 6.4 % in the same period. By contrast, Hinge achieved year-over-year DAU growth of roughly 8.5 %, making it the only major app among the group to demonstrate growth.

Interestingly, cross-usage patterns suggest potential churn risk for Bumble. For Q3, 22 % of Tinder users in Apptopia’s panel also used Bumble. On the flip side, 50 % of Bumble users in the panel were simultaneously active on Tinder—hinting at multi-app behaviour and possible engagement migration away from Bumble. The data authors caution that this isn’t evidence of direct user losses but indicates elevated overlap and possible dilution of loyalty.

The cohort analysis further reveals age-group disparities. Among users aged 17–25, Tinder saw modest time-spent gains, while Bumble experienced a significant drop and Hinge a slight decline. Analysts interpret this as indicative of younger users either diversifying their dating-app usage or becoming less engaged overall.