OkCupid has removed a key part of its dating platform, notifying members about the change in an email last Friday.
The dating service has canned the Visitors section, a tab on the platform that showed you who had visited your profile.
In the message to users, OkCupid said: “What’s the value of a visitor? Short answer: zero. Some would argue even less.
“It might be nice to see that your profile is getting some action, but when you really think about it – a person who visits your profile and chooses not to follow up with a like or message probably (read: definitely) isn’t worth your time.”
The change means that normal free users of OkCupid will no longer see a record of those who have visited their profile.
Now, the main way to discover if someone is interested in you is via OkCupid’s like system, which lets you like anyone on the platform, and notifies both users if there is a mutual like.
Members can reveal a full list of everyone who has liked them on the platform, but only by paying for OkCupid’s premium A-list subscription, which costs $19.95 for one month, and $59.70 for six.
Further explaining the decision, OkCupid said: “We’ve removed Visitors because it’s the people who see your profile and like it that deserve your attention. After all, they have great taste.
“And without Visitors, you can now connect with even more people because you don’t have to feel shy about showing up as a Visitor – and neither do they. We don’t want any more missed connections, so Visitors are gone.”
Despite this, the removal of the tab means that users can no longer browse through a list of people who might have mutually liked them, because they had visited their profile.
The change could be to tempt more people into buying OkCupid’s A-list service, which like Tinder’s new Gold subscription, allows users to see everyone who has liked them.
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