Tinder CEO Talks Indian Data Privacy in New Interview

The Hindustan Times has printed an interview with Elie Seidman, conducted during his first visit to Tinder’s main Indian office in February.

The CEO spent approximately a month in APAC promoting market-specific features and explaining how the dating app was going to step up its focus on the region.

He said that after entering India three years ago, it has become Tinder’s biggest market in Asia and the one with the most potential.

According to company data, Indian women are using Super Likes more than any other country in the world. Female empowerment has been a big part of Tinder’s strategy in the sub-continent, shown by the introduction of the women-first ‘My Move’ feature.

Bumble officially launched in India at the end of 2018, but Seidman is adamant he doesn’t feel threatened by the new competitor.

He also spoke about how user data is looked after and said that because Tinder makes most of its money through subscriptions, rather than advertising, it’s easier to follow regulations.

Seidman told the Hindustan Times: “We are compliant with the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) around the globe. Even though that’s a European regulation. We think that data privacy is really important and that its compliance is very important around the world”.

When questioned about whether his app is a tool to find love, Seidman emphasised that he thought the path to finding a soulmate was “the exciting part of life” and that millennials are getting married later and later.

This mindset is mirrored by Tinder’s ‘Adulting Can Wait’ marketing drive in India, but Seidman did recently suggest a relationship feature might be in the works for long-term users.

An Australian startup called Stigma Health has been rejected from advertising on Tinder because it doesn’t want to promote anything to do with sexual behaviour. Stigma Health is an app that wants to make it easier for people to book and have sexual health tests.

Read the full interview here.