Tinder Tests AI-Powered 'Chemistry' Feature That Scans Users' Camera Rolls for Better Matches

Tinder to use AI to get to know users, tap into their Camera Roll photos

Tinder is looking to AI to revitalize its dating app, which has now reported nine straight quarters of paying subscriber declines, as of the third quarter this year. The dating app maker, Match Group, told investors on Tuesday's earnings call that Tinder is testing a feature called Chemistry that will get to know users through questions and, with permission, will access Camera Roll photos on users' phones to learn more about their interests and personality. The feature is already being piloted in New Zealand and Australia, and will be a "major pillar of Tinder's upcoming 2026 product experience," said Match Group CEO Spencer Rascoff. Match isn't alone in requesting access to users' private Camera Roll photos. Meta also launched a feature last month that asks to use its AI on photos on your phone that you haven't yet shared in order to suggest AI edits. In both cases, the benefits to the end user for permitting this kind of expanded access are negligible. In Match's case, the company says it will engage users with interactive questions and learn more about them using AI technology so it can recommend better, more compatible matches. Presumably, that would look something like this: if you had photos of yourself outside hiking or climbing, you might be matched with someone who shared the same outdoor hobbies. While the company experiments with Tinder, Match's bottom line is taking a hit. Its fourth-quarter guidance includes a $14 million negative impact on Tinder's direct revenue as a result of the product testing, Match said. This, alongside other dating industry trends, has pulled down Match's Q4 guidance to land somewhere between $865 million and $875 million, while analysts were expecting $884.2 million. The company is using AI in other areas, as well, including in an LLM-powered system where Tinder nudges users before they send potentially offensive messages, asking them, "Are you sure?" It also uses AI to help users pick their best photos. AI isn't the only thing Tinder is trying to boost subscribers and engagement, however. The company has rolled out other features, like dating "modes," double dates, facial verification, and redesigned profiles, which feature bio information on the first photo card and prompts integrated into the photo carousel. Despite the product changes, Tinder faces a tough market where some young people are leaning away from online dating in favor of more real-world experiences, while online daters in the U.S. may be spending less as their disposable income shrinks, as the country flirts with recession. Match reported in Q3 that Tinder's revenue declined 3% year-over-year, and it saw a 7% decline in paying users. Overall, Match's revenue and earnings were largely in line with estimates, with revenue up 2% to $914.2 million, versus an expected $915 million, and EPS of 62 cents (profit of $160.8 million), versus an expected 63 cents.

Tinder's AI can find better matches by scanning your camera roll

Tinder is testing an AI-powered "Chemistry" feature that learns about your interests and personality by analyzing your camera roll. In its latest earnings report, the dating app's parent company, Match Group, described it as an interactive matching feature that's designed to combat "swipe fatigue" by surfacing fewer, more compatible matches. Chemistry requires the user's permission to access camera roll photos, and will also ask "interactive questions" to get to know users better. Match says this is a "major pillar of Tinder's upcoming 2026 product experience," and that the feature is already live in New Zealand and Australia, with plans to expand to additional countries in the coming months. Giving an app's AI free rein to look through photos on your device feels a little invasive, even if the feature is opt-in only. Match Group has introduced this and other AI features in an effort to encourage Tinder users to stick with the app, which has suffered a decline in paying subscribers for more than two years.

Tinder is Testing AI Features That Look Through Your Camera Roll

Tinder is testing a new AI-powered feature that looks at the photos on your camera roll in an effort to find you better matches, according to an announcement from parent company Match Group. And while that might sounds like a rather invasive way to find a match, the dating app notes that it's opt-in and will hopefully combat what it calls "swipe fatigue." The feature is called Chemistry and was announced by Match Group CEO Spencer Rascoff during an earnings call on Tuesday. The AI asks users interactive questions and seeks to find out what matters to a given user the most. "Powered by AI, this interactive matching featureâ€"a major part of Tinder’s upcoming 2026 product experienceâ€"gets to know users through fun, conversational prompts and, with permission, learns from their camera roll to better understand their interests and personality," the company said in a prepared statement published online. Gizmodo hasn't tested the feature yet, but the company is clearly stressing that it will only look through your camera roll if users give it permission to do just that. The Tinder app has gotten a refresh for Apple's Liquid Glass on iOS and the company thinks that its new AI experiments will help improve the user experience. "Using deep learning, Chemistry aims to reduce dating app fatigue by surfacing a few highly relevant profiles each dayâ€"driving more compatible matches and more engaging conversations," a Tinder spokesperson told Gizmodo via email. The AI feature is currently being tested in Australia and New Zealand. The company has plans to roll out the feature to additional countries "in the coming months," but it's not clear yet when that might include the U.S. Aside from Chemistry, Tinder is also experimenting with other features, like a new Modes navigation, which was launched in September. Users can choose things like College Mode, which includes meeting new people with a friend in their college community or Double Date Mode, which lets you match with other pairs. Tinder reports that Double Date has been popular, particularly in Europe and with Gen Z more broadly. The app is also reportedly being improved on the tech side of things, with Android startup times 38% faster and crash rates reduced by 32%, according to Match. The company also claims that app stability on iOS has improved considerably.

Tinder's Big AI Feature Release for 2026 Comes With Major Privacy Concern

Before analysing the user's camera roll, it will seek permission Tinder is currently testing a new artificial intelligence (AI) feature that is designed to combat users' swipe fatigue in finding relevant matches. The feature, dubbed Chemistry, can look through the user's camera roll after gaining permission, and based on the pictures, can suggest "highly relevant profiles" every day. The Match Group-owned platform calls this feature a major pillar for 2026; however, in application, it might raise some privacy concerns. Based on how it is implemented, users may not be able to protect sensitive and private images from being processed by the company's AI. Tinder Is Currently Testing Chemistry The new feature was first unveiled during Match Group's third quarterly earnings call with investors. According to the prepared remarks, Chemistry was introduced as a "major pillar of Tinder's upcoming 2026 product experience." It is an AI-powered interactive matching feature that uses multiple ways to know the user and find relevant matches for them. Based on the company's description, it learns about the user via interactive questions and by analysing their camera roll. Match Group highlights that it will seek explicit permission from the user before it can access the camera roll. After collecting data, it is said to use deep learning to suggest "a few" highly relevant profiles each day. The goal of this Tinder feature is to prevent swipe fatigue in users. Swipe fatigue occurs when a dating app user swipes for long durations to find a relevant match, but the surfacing profiles are not up to their preference. The company says Chemistry will drive more compatible matches and engaging conversations. It is currently live in Australia and New Zealand, and will be expanded to more countries in the months to come. On the surface, it appears to be exactly the kind of feature that can change a user's entire experience of the app. However, based on how it is implemented, it can raise privacy concerns. If users cannot prevent the AI from scanning sensitive or private photos, then there's a risk that these photos can be leaked from Tinder's servers. Additionally, if the company's employees can access these images or if the photos are stored on the servers indefinitely, that also increases the privacy risk. However, Tinder's safety measures will be clear only after the feature has been officially announced by the dating app.