Tinder India launches in-app vaccine advocacy initiative

Tinder is launching its vaccine advocacy initiative in India to encourage Gen Z members to get vaccinated. COVID-induced lockdowns are beginning to ease across the country, and people (daters) are now looking forward to meeting their matches in real life (IRL).

As a part of the initiative, Tinder will be sharing educational guides with its members and enabling access to an all-new in-app vaccine centre.

The initiative will reach millions of Tinder members across the country, and connect them with valuable, easy to use resources:

• https://tinder.knowthevaccine.com/: A custom-built digital educational guide for Gen Z delivered in-app. It is a rich and interactive resource that answers questions as simple as, ‘What is a vaccine?, the essential ‘Can I go out now?’, to the more serious ‘Can I get COVID after the vaccine?’ Alongside these questions are interactive quizzes that one can swipe on to bust myths, such as The vaccine guarantees safety from all COVID variants. No, not 100%. There is still a 10-20% chance one can get COVID. It’s like a rebound.

• Vaccine centre: Coming soon is the in-app centre with resources from the World Health Organization (WHO) and also cowin.gov.in. Members can easily access government-approved vaccine information and book an appointment at their nearest vaccination site.

• Profile stickers: Members can display their vaccination status and advocate for their potential matches to get vaccinated by adding interactive new stickers from the vaccine centre to their profiles. Stickers include Vaccinated, Vaxing Soon, Immunity Together, and Vaccines Save Lives.

“The pandemic really pushed our members to get creative to make new connections. Vaccinations have become a popular talking point on Tinder, and mentions of ‘vaccine’ in member bios went up by 42x in India in May 2021 - an all-time high - compared to when the pandemic first began,” said Taru Kapoor, general manager, Tinder and Match Group India.

“As India’s vaccination drive gains momentum, we want to extend support and encouragement for our members to be better equipped to find their way back into IRL dating when it becomes a possibility. Our intent is to make dating safer for everyone everywhere, and Tinder vaccine stickers will make it both easy and fun to share your vaxxing vibe and start something epic!”

Tinder has also been working with local partners such as India Vaccine Project on ground to spread vaccine awareness and help them recruit young (Tinder) volunteers. Tinder’s parent Match Group has made a donation to ACT Grants supporting their multiple COVID relief initiatives.