Tinder Just Announced A MAJOR Change

Tinder, the dating app that has initiated billions of random hookups, er, "connections" (and plenty of long-term relationships, too) has just announced a huge change that is sure to spark conversation. As of next week, users must be 18 or older to have a profile on the app. Given the nature of Tinder, it seems logical. But until now, the minimum age for users has been 13, a requirement that Tinder still lists in its terms of agreement. Tinder issued the following official statement addressing the policy change: "On a platform that has facilitated over 11 billion connections, we have the responsibility of constantly assessing our different user experiences. Consistent with this responsibility, we have decided to discontinue service for under 18 users. We believe this is the best policy moving forward. This change will take effect next week." Currently, underage Tinder users aged 13 to 17 could use the app, but they would only be matched with other users in that age range. Perhaps this was proving difficult to enforce or had too many bugs and glitches. Of course, the policy change doesn't mean that teens can't just lie about their birthdays and create a profile anyway, something that people have previously complained about on Reddit. And Tinder isn't the only app to have issues with correct age matches. Earlier this year, Bumble, which already has an 18-or-over age requirement in place, was found to have an underage matching error that only allowed users to match with people ages 13 to 17. Yikes. Rebellious teens and glitches aside, Tinder's decision will hopefully make it a safer place and prevent those over 18 from matching with someone outside of their specified age range. Cheers to more happy, legal dates in the future.