3 things to know about Tinder’s new algorithm

The app’s is hoping its changes will result in more matches

Here are a few things to know about the change:

1. It will show your best photo first

According to this article in Forbes:

Called Smart Photos, the algorithm works by automatically re-ordering a user’s pictures so that their “best” photo is seen first by other Tinder users. The feature can track which of the user’s photos get the most swipes, and then puts that photo first. This method also works by tracking a user’s swiping habits in order to optimize which pictures on other people’s profiles are shown first.

“We’re working our magic to make swiping more fun and more effective. Tinder’s Smart Photos feature is designed to bring you more matches, but it’s also a great way to see which way of presenting yourself is the most compelling to others,” the company said in its blog.

2. A test group experienced a ’12 percent increase in matches’

According to this article in The Next Web:

Tinder says that its test group saw up to a 12 percent increase in matches. You can try it for yourself by enabling the Smart Photos toggle on the Edit Profile screen.

While it might seem like a small change, Tinder hopes that it’ll address a couple of major issues: Profiles that could get more matches by simply selecting better photos and the anxiety some users face when thinking about whether their own chosen profile photo is the best one.

The company’s engineering team found this to be an interesting challenge, akin to a 1950s thought experiment called the multi-armed bandit, and wrote about it on its new dev blog.

3. They made the change to help ‘struggling’ users

According to this article in Daily Mail:

The makers of the app hope that the selective photo feature will improve the success rate for its users.

‘I wanted to help Tinder users who were struggling, the ones who weren’t reaching their best potential,’ explained Mike Hall, Machine Learning Lead at Tinder who worked on the algorithm.

Smart Photos is the latest in a series of updates made by the dating app.