Tinder users more likely to have STIs, suggests a study (Picture: Metro/ Steven Legere)

People who use Tinder are more likely to have a sexually transmitted infection, new research suggests.

A conducted on behalf of an UK online pharmaceutical company has revealed that Brits who use the dating app are twice as likely to have an STI then those who have never used it.

The most commonly contracted STI for those who used the app was revealed as genital warts – treatable fleshy lumps or bumps around the genitals or anal area.

And we recently reported that around 750,000 of people who use the app have public lice – or crabs.


The top five answers emerging from each group revealed as follows:

Most frequently contracted STIs for people on Tinder Genital Warts – 31%

Herpes – 29%

Chlamydia – 26%

Gonorrhoea – 11%

Trichomoniasis – 7%

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The following were the top 5 answers for those who do not use the dating app:

Most frequently contracted STIs for non-Tinder users Chlamydia – 21%

Herpes – 17%

Pubic Lice (Crabs) – 15%

Gonorrhoea – 12%

Genital Warts – 7%

The research took place on behalf of the team at MedExpress.co.uk who polled a total of 2,899 UK-based sexually active adults aged 18 and over.

Each participant revealed to researchers that they were single and whether they were a Tinder user or not. A total of 1,440 respondents used Tinder while 1,459 respondents did not use Tinder.

The subjects were asked if they frequently engaged in one night stands (more than one per month), with more than two thirds (68 per cent) of respondents stating that they did. Of these individuals, the vast majority (79 per cent) were Tinder users, with the remaining 21 per cent stating that they had never used the app to find potential partners.

Following this, all participants were asked if they have ever contracted a sexually transmitted disease; with 38 per cent of those who did not use the app and 76 per cent of those who did use the app stating they had done.

The participants who stated they have or have had a STI in the past were then asked to disclose which STI’s they had contracted from a previous sexual partner. Those who used Tinder and those who did not were asked separately to see if there was a difference between the two groups.

A study found people who use Tinder are more likely to have an STI (Picture: Alamy)

Michael Ross, Spokesperson for MedExpress.co.uk, told Metro.co.uk: ‘With the huge popularity of dating and hook up apps, particularly amongst young Britons, it’s hardly a shock that so many of the individuals taking part in our study engage in regular one night stands. What is so shocking however, is the huge difference between the rate of STI’s caught by those who use Tinder compare to those who do not.’

‘It was also very intriguing to see a difference in the kind of STI’s contracted by those who use Tinder, and those caught by other single Britons, and one can only assume this is due to a high number of people using Tinder as their form of meeting partners, and effectively sparing those without the app the chance to contract such infections.’

Metro.co.uk have got in touch with Tinder for comment.

Use a condom to reduce the risk of contracting a sexually transmitted infection. Visit a sexual health or genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinic to be screened.



For more information head to the NHS for their advice on STI symptoms and treatment.

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