Tinder shot to fame as a dating app for tech-savvy single people. Except, as it turns out, a big chunk of its users may not be single after all.

That’s according to research firm GlobalWebIndex (GWI), which released some figures on Tinder from its latest survey of more than 47,000 internet users around the world that suggest the app has a wider demographic.

In fact, the research claims that 30% of Tinder users surveyed are married, while another 12% are in a relationship. 54% classed themselves as single, while 3% were divorced or widowed.

Tinder may also be a digital stomping ground for married men, judging by GWI’s claim that 62% of its users are male and 38% female.

The research also shows, unsurprisingly, that Tinder’s users are a relatively young crowd, with 38% aged between 16 and 24, and 45% between 25 and 34.

13% are aged 35-44, 3% are 45-54 and 1% are 55-64 – although if reports in late 2014 that Tinder had 50 million active users were true, that would still indicate half a million people in that oldest age category surveyed.

Tinder recently launched a premium Tinder Plus option, enabling people to subscribe for extra features for £3.99 a month if they were younger than 28, and £14.99 a month if they were older.

GWI’s data suggests that Tinder Plus could become a good money-spinner for the company, which is owned by online dating giant Match. Its survey found that 24% of Tinder users had paid for an online dating service in the last month, compared to 14% of dating site users surveyed.

The company also asked Tinder users for their views on a range of issues, in order to judge their attractiveness to advertisers as well as potential dates.

85% agreed with the statement “I look after my appearance/image”, unsurprisingly, while 82% “always like to try new products”. 63% like to keep up with the latest fashions, while 58% consider themselves to “be much more affluent than the average”.

Sadly, GWI neglected to include “I send unsolicited penis snaps to single women when my wife isn’t looking” as one of its survey’s statements. Maybe next time.

What about all those married and in-a-relationship users of Tinder, though? It would be rash to label them as “cheaters”.

Some may have open relationships, others may be just browsing, and some in the second category may have only recently started their relationship – perhaps even with someone they met on Tinder – and haven’t uninstalled the app.

Tinder might prefer another explanation: that people are using its app to meet new people for platonic friendship rather than just romance. It’s a use case that the company has regularly suggested in media interviews.

“We never intended it to be a dating platform. It’s a social discovery platform, facilitating an introduction between two people,” Tinder’s then-chief marketing officer Justin Mateen told the Guardian in February 2014.

“As the product evolves, we’re moving into different uses for it, doing little things that will allow people to interact socially in ways other than dating.”

Tinder has contacted the Guardian to disagree with GWI’s figures – or at least, the stats focused on their ages.

“Those statistics are completely inaccurate. I’m not sure how they sampled that specific group of people, but it does not represent Tinder’s userbase,” said a spokesperson. “More than 50% of Tinder’s userbase is age 18-24. And altogether, 85% of our users are age 18-34.”

GWI’s claim that 83% of Tinder users are aged 18-34 nearly matches the latter stat, but its finding that only 38% are aged 18-24 is more puzzling – although it is possible that part of the difference is explained by users taking a few years off their age when registering.

Tinder’s statement did not address the marital status of its users, although it is difficult to see how it would have accurate figures even if it asked them when signing up.



The company did stress that it has “hundreds of success stories emailed to us every week about a new engagement or marriage”, and reiterated its status as more than a dating network.

“Tinder is a social network and these are many use cases for it - not just dating. People are using it to make new friends, to network, and they use it when they travel to meet new people in the area,” said the spokesperson.

“With tens of millions of users in all 196 countries, Tinder has quickly become the most prominent way people connect with others. Tinder has already made more than six billion matches globally.”