From Tinder photo tools to a Grindr ‘wingman’: Is AI ruining online dating?

While AI-infused algorithms may have long laid beneath the sheets, dating apps are now including above-the-cover AI features. Take Hinge’s new AI-powered coach, who helps daters improve their profile prompt responses. Or Tinder’s “photo selector”, which helps to identify which photos in your camera roll might work as profile photos. Gay dating app Grindr have even added a chatbot called Grindr Wingman to their list of tools – something users have found entirely redundant. “I can’t imagine any app needing a wingman less than one that’s literally designed for hookups,” our tech commentator, Will Hosie, tells me, “and where people already speak in prompts like ‘mine?’, ‘yours?’, etc.”.