It is supposed to help single people find love, or at the very least a bit of romance.

But a third of people on Tinder, the dating app, are already married.

And - somewhat surprisingly – women are the worst offenders.

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According to a study by London firm GlobalWebIndex, more than four in ten people who use the dating app are already in a relationship.

According to a study by GlobalWebIndex, more than four in ten people who use the dating app are already in a relationship.

One in ten are going out with another person, whilst three in ten are supposedly so committed that they have stood up in front of their friends and taken vows.

Even so, they have signed up to the dating app, which allows people to scan for other users nearby, and decide whether they like the look of them based on their photographs.

Whenever they see someone they fancy, users indicate their interest by swiping right on the touchscreen of their smartphone or tablets.

If they are not interested, they swipe left.

Users are only able to contact each other once both people have swiped right on each other's profiles, showing that the interest is mutual.

The mobile app is more popular amongst men, who outnumber women three to two.

However, women on Tinder are nearly twice as likely to be cheaters.

More than half of the women on the dating app are in a romantic relationship of some kind, and more than 40 per cent are married.

That compares to a third of men who are in a relationship, and 23 per cent who have taken their vows.

Jason Mander, GlobalWebIndex's head of trends, said he was surprised by results, but said that not every married person would be using the website to cheat.

'It suggests that women are keener than men to go 'window shopping,' he said.

'It is clear that there is a segment of the audience using Tinder for purposes they shouldn't be. The natural assumption is that married people are using it to cheat on their partners.'

People are more inclined to 'cheat' using the app because it is so easy to download and swipe through pictures, he said.

'People still have a sense that because it is an app it is a different version of you, and that you are just having a little bit of fun in cyber space'.

However, Mr Mander added that some married people may be using the app for perfectly innocent reasons, such as to make new friends in their area.

Unsurprisingly, the mobile app is most popular amongst younger users.

Around 38 per cent are aged between 16 and 24, and 45 per cent fall in the 25 to 34 bracket. Just four per cent are over the age of 45.

The app is also much more popular in towns and cities than it is in rural areas, where there are many fewer people around.

Tinder has been downloaded more than 50million times since it launched in 2012, and matches around 26 million would-be couples every 24 hours.

GlobalWebIndex surveyed 48,000 people about their internet habits, of which 621 said they used Tinder.

Location-based dating apps, such as Tinder and the League, have a combined total of 91 million users.

A previous study from the firm

Now a new study has found that nearly two thirds of these app users are men – and one in five will pay for premium services.

Sixteen to 34 year-olds make up the majority of mobile dating app users, accounting for 70 per cent of the total user base.

Last year, a similar study by Pew Research Center found that men were more active on dating apps and sites.

Location-based dating apps, such as Tinder (screenshot pictured) and the League, have a combined total of 91 million users. Now a new study has found that nearly two thirds these app users are men – and one in five will pay for premium services

The research found that 13 per cent of US males had used a dating app or site, compared to only nine per cent of women in the states.

According to Tinder, users will log on to the company's app on average 11 times a day.

Women spend as much as 8.5 minutes swiping left and right during a single session, while men spend 7.2 minutes.

The company claims to have 40 million users, trailing behind Chinese dating app, Momo, which is said to have 60 million active users.

Other emerging players include Bumble and Hinge. Bumble is a dating app that emphasises safety and puts women in control.

The Tinder rival works on the same principal as the original, but only women can start conversations. They've created female-focused marketing material urging ladies to 'take the leap'.

Hinge, meanwhile, links users on the basis of two factors; proximity, like Tinder, and social 'friends of friends' connections, using data from Facebook.

According to the company, 99 per cent of its users are college-educated, most commonly working in industries such as banking, media and fashion.

The GlobalWebIndex report also found that location-based dating apps are gaining the popularity in areas such as the Philippines, Thailand, Brazil, Mexico, India, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey and Vietnam.