March 16 (UPI) -- Tinder said Tuesday it will give away 1,000 free mail-in COVID-19 tests to 500 pairs of users to allow them to check their status before meeting in person.
The online dating app, where people swipe right on users' profiles to match with someone or left to reject them, said in a statement it will give away Everlywell COVID-19 Test Home Collection Kits to 500 matches, on a first-come, first-served, basis.
In a survey, Tinder found that more than 40% of its users under age 30 had not met in person, but added that trends are starting to change with "go on a date" reaching an all-time high in February, according to Tinder bios.
Tinder marketed the move in its statement as a way to encourage its Gen Z dating crowd, waiting their turn for the COVID-19 vaccine, to feel safer as more are starting to return to meeting up in person.
Related
"The pandemic has created no shortage of dating obstacles, but we think our members are pretty optimistic about getting back out there; January 3rd Swipe activity hit 3.4 billion, which was one the busiest days of the entire pandemic," Nicole Parlapiano, Tinder vice president of marketing for North America said in the statement. "We're excited to be working with Everlywell to make it easier for our members to go and meet their matches safely."
But Tinder's interface for the giveaway shows that a negative test does not mean someone does not have or cannot transmit COVID-19 because of the window before results come back.
Users can claim a code for their free Everlywell mail-in test from the Tinder app starting at 7 p.m. EDT on the first day of Spring, March 20th.
