Americans are going to be having a lot less sex tonight: Tinder is down.
Droves of Tinder users hit Twitter on Wednesday afternoon to complain about being locked out of their accounts, a bug related to Facebook’s third-party app-sharing policies.
My Tinder Tweetdeck column is full of people freaking because Facebook's privacy changes appear to have somehow goofed up Tinder and now how will people ever have sex again!!! pic.twitter.com/FJZ6XxvizX — Madison Malone Kircher (@4evrmalone) April 4, 2018
“Tinder requires you provide additional Facebook permissions in order to use a Tinder account,” states the reported error message. “This information is used to create fuller profiles, verify authenticity and provide support.”
Facebook confirmed to Wire reporter Louise Matsakis on Wednesday that the technical difficulties experienced by Tinder were likely related to third-party privacy fixes Facebook made on Wednesday in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Now you can blame your sad, sexless existence on that whole mess, too.
Facebook has broken Tinder and users who were booted off the dating app have taken to Twitter to complain about it, as spotted first by Select All.
Ever since the Cambridge Analytica data privacy scandal, in which as many as 87 million users had data improperly shared with the UK data mining firm, Facebook has been rolling out more security and data privacy updates. Today, however, the company announced sweeping changes to many of its most prominent APIs, restricting developer access in a number of crucial ways.
Soon after, Tinder users started noting on Twitter that they had been kicked off the dating app and couldn’t log back on, as those who used Facebook Login were caught in an infinite loop that appears to be related to an unknown bug. Since you need a Facebook account to log into Tinder, this bug has potentially affected Tinder’s entire user base.
The app has been bringing up an error message to booted users, titled Facebook Permissions, stating that users need to provide more Facebook permissions in order to create or use a Tinder account. If users tap “Ask me,” which is the only given option, the app requests they log into Facebook once more and the loop starts again.
That feel when tinder logs you out and doesn't let you back in. There goes my future wife. — . P A N I I C . (@nathius_1996) April 4, 2018
@Tinder keep getting this even though I give all permissions when I login. pic.twitter.com/cIWQBKLhQf — Nima Gardideh (@ngardideh) April 4, 2018
Tinder has responded in a tweet, “A technical issue is preventing users from logging into Tinder. We apologize for the inconvenience and are working to have everyone swiping again soon.” The web browser still works in the meantime. Facebook said in a statement to The Verge, “This was part of the changes that we announced today, and we are working with Tinder to address this issue.”
I have a date tonight and I don’t have her number. This is a serious problem for me in case our plans change — I’ll have no way of knowing — Max Davids (@maxxdavids) April 4, 2018
Update April 4th, 5:00PM ET: This article has been updated with a statement from Facebook and Twitter.
Micro videos have been trendy since Vine (RIP), and later Boomerang, made the format fun and easy to shoot. Now, Tinder is currently testing a two-second looping video feature for profiles that’s similar to Boomerang and Facebook’s own profile videos.
Tinder Loops is the dating app’s first video-based feature, and it’s currently being tested for iOS users in Canada and Sweden. Users can upload videos from their phone and trim the footage within the Tinder app.
Though it gives users another way of expressing their best selves, it does put a bit of pressure on crafting the perfect loop to put on your profile. How does one skillfully create a two-second loop that signifies who they are as a person? Selecting still photos is hard enough. If you’re struggling, the update does allow users to have three additional photos or Loops on their profile (for a total of nine), so at least you have plenty of chances to show your true self. Tinder did not specify when Loops will appear outside of its current testing markets.
Photo: Getty
Tinder is down, according to a number of users on Twitter who are unable to log into the dating app. Instead, they are stuck in a Facebook permissions loop. Trying times for the thirsty.
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Several publications and some users are pinning the blame on Facebook. On Wednesday, the social network announced changes to its API, indicating that developers of third-party apps will have more limited access to data from both Facebook and Instagram.
The timing is certainly suspect, but the dating app has yet to confirm that is the case. The Verge, however, reports that Facebook has accepted the blame: “This was part of the changes that we announced today, and we are working with Tinder to address this issue,” a spokesperson reportedly said.
What’s more, when I tried to create a Tinder account using my phone number rather than logging in through Facebook, it still wonked out. I received the following pop-up error message:
Image: Gizmodo
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In the meantime, senior software engineer at Tinder Roderick Hsiao suggests using the service on desktop.
We have reached out to Tinder for comment and will update this story when we receive a response.
