Dating apps see Olympic level engagement in Paris during games

This year, the Olympics was held in Paris, France, otherwise known as the city of love. Athletes from all over the world flew into the city for a shot at a medal. However, it would seem that some were looking for a shot at love as well. 

In fact, there have been numerous TikTok videos of dating app users teaching viewers how to successfully match with an Olympian even when they're not located in France - and it's all thanks to the location feature on these apps. In just a few hours of the Olympic Opening Ceremony, daters discovered that they could update their location to Paris to swipe through the Olympic Village.

One such dater, who goes by Sofia Elizabeth (@sofiaelizabethbackup) on TikTok, shared a tutorial on how to match with an Olympian on dating app Hinge. This is especially since users don't have to pay to change locations on Hinge, "unlike Tinder or Bumble", said the TikToker, adding, "To match with an athlete, you got to train like an athlete".

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The TikToker revealed the research she did on how to locate the Olympic Village on the maps and shared hacks on how trick Hinge's algorithm, suggesting that swiping only on Olympians will allow Hinge to pick up that the user only wants to date Olympians. 

According to media intelligence firm Truescope, the Paris Olympics has led to a significant increase in Tinder usage in the city of love. With more than 10,000 Olympians and numerous fans in Paris, the app experienced a 20% rise in swipe activity across France even before the games started. 

Dating apps such as Tinder, Grindr and Bumble have transformed modern romance, especially noticeable in the Olympic Village, added Truescope. 

Out of the dating apps, Tinder was the most talked-about, followed by Grindr and Bumble. 

The discussions on these apps centred on "LGBTQ athletes", "gay athletes" and "beautiful athletes". Several prominent athletes were also discussed including USA gymnasts Simone Biles, Jordan Chiles, Jade Carey, Sunia Lee and Aly Raisman as well as British diver Tom Daley. 

Interestingly, many netizens were cynical about seeking romantic connections during the Olympics, adding that the focus should be on athletic achievements rather than personal relationships, said Truescope. Comments such as "you have one job and it's not finding a mate" and "I guess it's not just world records they're trying to smash" highlight this sentiment. 

In addition, some comments used humour with sexual innuendo to address the situation, often referencing the Olympic Village as a site for widespread sexual activity. Remarks about distributing condoms to athletes contributed to this light-hearted commentary on the perceived culture within the Olympic Village, added Truescope. 

Meanwhile, there were some who threw skepticism at Grindr who commented that its new measures were more about publicity than genuinely protecting athletes' privacy, according to Truescope. 

That said, MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has also spoken with several dating apps to find out how the Paris Olympic games have impacted them. 

Bumble 

According to Bumble, in the lead up to the games, the dating app saw an increase in people changing their Bumble profile location to Paris and adding mentions of the games in their bios. 

A new Bumble study conducted by YouGov revealed that more than a third of 18-34 year-olds (35%) are enthusiastic about the idea of Paris hosting the event. Among them, 60% of singles say they are looking for a relationship during this period, whether it's for fun, or for something serious. After a gloomy spring, the return of the warm weather is giving the French a newfound motivation to resume their quest for romance, added the study. 

To help them date with a peace of mind, Bumble opened its own cafe in collaboration with coffee brand GoodNews. The app also brought back 'Bumble Nights', a two-night mixer for singles in the French capital. 

The two private events, located at an undisclosed location in Paris, gave singles the chance to meet in real life and potentially make meaningful connection. 

Grindr 

As for gay dating app Grindr, the app turned off features such as "explore" and "roam" within the Olympic Village. The "show distance" feature was also turned off by default, but users could share their approximate distance if they decide to turn it on.

This is to ensure that "LGBTQ+ athletes could connect with each other authentically without worrying about prying eyes or unwanted attention", said Grindr in a statement seen by MARKETING-INTERACTIVE.

"Our goal is to help athletes connect without worrying about unintentionally revealing their whereabouts or being recognised," added Grindr. 

In addition, the app enabled additional safety and privacy features for users in the Olympic Village to give them more privacy controls and peace of mind. That includes: 

• Sending unlimited disappearing messages and unsending messages after they're sent regardless of whether the user is a premium or free user. 
• Disabling screenshots for profile images and media in-chat.
• Private videos are disabled within the Olympic Village.
• Access the ‘Report a recent chat’ feature in settings to report any concerns within 24 hours, along with Grindr's other enhanced security features. User details such as profile names and photos are also kept confidential to protect privacy.

Grindr also provided targeted safety resources and information including weekly messages reminding users that they may face danger while using the app in the Olympic Village and sharing links to its multilingual safety resources.

"Being an LGBTQ+ athlete comes with its own unique set of challenges, especially for those who come from places that lack basic rights and protections for our community," said Grindr in a statement. 

Meanwhile, the only ads that will appear on Grindr to those in the village during the Olympics will be advertisements from Grindr for Equality, promoting health and safety resources. Users were not able to see third-party advertisements. 

Tinder

Tinder, on the other hand, reported that there had been an almost 20% increase in swipe activity in France. Tinder also said that it has seen a 103% increase in Tinder Passport Mode activity to key tourist sites in Paris.

Tinder Passport Mode is a feature that allows users to search by city or drop a pin on the map to begin liking, matching and chatting with others in their destination of choice.

The top three origin countries of those using the Tinder Passport Mode feature in July to change their location to France are the USA, Brazil and Turkey, according to Tinder.

Furthermore, the top sports selected as interests in Tinder users’ bios right now are football, basketball and swimming. The fastest growing sports interests are gymnastics (+31%) and basketball (+14%).

There has also been an increase in the number of users with the job descriptions 'olympian' (+52%) and 'athlete' (+43%) on Tinder in Paris, it added.

The app also has an Incognito Mode that fully hides user profiles. Users can still swipe on the app but only those who a user has liked will be seen in their recommendations. This is "for athletes who would prefer to keep a low profile in Paris", said Tinder.

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