Tinder’s looping profile videos launch globally

Tinder is today rolling out a new feature that enables users to add a two-second looping video to their profiles.

The dating app first announced the feature back in April, though it was initially limited to Canada and Sweden for testing, and it quietly launched in Japan last month. From today, looping videos will be available in an additional 23 markets across the Americas, Western Europe, Asia, and the Middle East — including the U.S., U.K., France, Australia, Germany, South Korea, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Italy.

So how do you add looping videos to your profile? Well, hit the “add media” button in your profile page and upload a video from your camera roll. You will need to use the built-in editor to trim your video down to two seconds, and then you can set it to become your main profile visual.

Above: Tinder: In the loop

This is the first time the perennially popular dating app has enabled moving images on its platform.

Tinder may have taken a while to get on the looping-video bandwagon, but it did acquire a video-sharing app called Wheel last year, causing speculation that Tinder was planning something big around video. It’s not clear whether that acquisition has had any direct impact on this latest feature, but it does appear Tinder is looking to broaden its horizons beyond static imagery.

For now, Tinder Loops will only be available to iOS users but, as with all similar updates, it will eventually be made available on Android too.

Tinder claimed that during testing, profiles with looping videos “increased your average conversation length with a match by more than 20 percent,” according to a statement issued by the company. And in Japan, where it launched in June, loop-laden Tinder profiles garnered 10 percent more right-swipes on average compared to those without loops.

However, one possible reason for that spike could be due to the novelty factor — users would likely not be accustomed to seeing moving images on profiles and might want to learn more. Once the novelty has worn off and everybody has a looping video in their profile, it will be interesting to see what the numbers look like.

In addition to looping videos, Tinder is also now making room for up to nine profile photos or loops in your profile, up from the current limit of six.