Forget Swipe Right, Go Up: Tinder Debuts 'Super Like' Icon To Give Women More Power

It's not as simple as "swipe left" or "swipe right" anymore. Tinder released an update that lets users "swipe up" on a profile that will then signal to the other user that there is a "heightened level of interest," the company announced Wednesday.

Called "Super Like," the new feature will be available to users once per day -- for now. To use it, Tinder users can either swipe up on a profile or tap on a new blue star icon. When the starred user sees the profile of the user who "super liked" them, the profile will bear a blue footer. The user can still choose to swipe left to reject.

Tinder CEO Sean Rad is marketing this feature as a way to ensure higher-quality matches on the app. Indeed, Tinder has been overwhelmed by people who just incessantly swipe right -- some even going as far to create computer programs to do the work for them. That feature has led other dating apps, such as Bumble, to add a virtual verification badge to users that respond to messages and do not repeatedly swipe in one direction.

"People like to know that someone finds them special, and we think this will lead to even better matches. In this and future product releases we’re focused on maintaining the incredible fun of the Tinder community while providing our users with better tools for making great connections," Rad said in a statement.

"Super Like" has also been advertised as a new feature to give women more control, as competitor Bumble has been pushing. Supermodel Erin Heatherton, a self-proclaimed Tinder user who starred in a music video marketing the feature, emphasized the update's potential for female Tinder users.

“What I like most about Tinder is that it has given women the power to decide who has the ability to communicate with them. Super Like enhances these powers by allowing them to invite the people they want to engage with," Heatherton said in a statement.

The music video -- which features Heatherton and supermodel Nina Agdal -- was produced by Culprit Creative and VFX by Ingenuity Studios. As Tinder notes in its press release, that's the same team behind Taylor Swift's "Bad Blood" video.

Tinder, owned by IAC/InterActive Corp, which also owns Match.com, OKCupid and other dating sites, has often advertised itself by the number of swipes and the number of matches it produces rather than the number of active users. Tinder revealed to TechCrunch that the app now boasts 9 billion matches, up from 8 billion in June, figures greater than world's population. Matches mean that the swipe was mutual.

"Super Like" is only available to Tinder users in Australia but will be introduced globally by the year's end, the company announced. It's also not just an exclusive to Tinder users who pay for Tinder Plus, a premium version of the app that allows for swiping in a different location, undoing swipes and access to unlimited swipes per day.