Victoria’s Secret Angel Erin Heatherton to launch new Tinder feature

Erin Heatherton, one of Victoria’s Secret’s most recognisable former Angels, has joined with dating app Tinder to launch its new “super like” feature. Sports Illustrated cover girl Nina Agdal is also involved and the two models are promoting the new addition to the app which exploded on to the dating scene in 2012.

Erin and Nina feature in a short film produced by the same team who worked on Taylor Swift’s Bad Blood video. The video demonstrates the improvements to the app to show how “super like” can boost your dating experience.

The Tinder platform has been the subject of fascination, criticism and humour; numerous discussions have been had on how Tinder has changed online dating culture since its conception in 2012, receiving mixed reviews in its three years of online presence.

Minimising the standard dating pro forma requiring detailed information on the user and his or hers expectations in a partner to a simple swipe right for “like”, or left for “not interested”, Tinder limits text space on profiles, with no obligation on users to fill this section in at all if they wish. The emphasis then, is centred on images, this aspect particularly attracting criticism for being too superficial. However, the continued popularity of the Tinder model has seen the swipe feature replicated on version 3.0 of Match.com.

The “super like” function went live in Australia on 10^th September and is due to expand to a global audience later this year. Tinder’s CEO, Sean Rad explained on its unveiling: “A ‘like’, or ‘swipe right’ has long served as an anonymous way to express interest in someone, similar to a glance across the room, because they’re so limited in number, a ‘super like’, or a ‘swipe up’, sends a more powerful signal, conveying an especially high level of interest.  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.”

Emma Pugh