Web Summit: Tinder will announce changes to its algorithm to boost matches and create 'deeper connections'

Tinder is making a "huge" change to its algorithm to boost connections made on the dating app by 30%, announced founder and CEO Sean Rad at Dublin Web Summit on Wednesday (4 November). "We're about to announce a huge change we've made to the algorithm and we have increased the number of matches by over 30 percent," Rad told the crowd at the tech conference.

Rad, said that Tinder is looking for ways to reduce the barriers to people connecting, to help its 50 million monthly users attract "deeper connections." He added that there will be a "series of things you're going to see that will help you make more sense of the sheer volume of people around you and build deeper connections...and more ways to connect."

The dating app's cofounder was coy about details on the algorithm change, but alluded to a move beyond casual hook ups, saying that 80% of users are seeking long-term relationships. "It's been our mission since day one to uncover every possible meaningful relationship," he said.

Tinder, where users are asked to swipe left or right on a potential connection, receives 1.6 billion swipes per day, 26 million matches per day and 9 billion total matches, according to the company. Rad said that over 1.5 million first dates from Tinder every week, of which half become second dates.

The dating app released its "super like" feature in which a user could let a potential match know that they liked them more than others that day, before they make a decision to accept or reject their match. Rad said that this function showed a "deeper level of intent."

"For the first time with super like you could almost walk over and say hello and not just give them a wink across the room...it is a deeper level of intent," Rad said.