OkCupid and Tinder make a hot date to swap UX (exclusive)

In the digital dating world, one of the hottest new entrants is the IAC-owned iPhone app Tinder, which has facilitated more than 50 million matches since its launch last October.

Tinder’s hook is that makes online dating a lot like Hot or Not. Just connect your account with Facebook to fill in your photo and a few interests and you’re ready to be matched up. When matches appear, all you have to do is swipe to the right if you think the guy or gal is hot, swipe to the right if he or she is not.

But fellow IAC-owned* dating property OKCupid recently developed a crush on Tinder’s interface and swiping success. So the OKCupid team asked Tinder for a little help porting over its user interface, and the two teams ended up bonding.

* Correction 5/12/2014: IAC does not own Tinder, it is merely the lead investor, Tinder informs us.

“OkCupid worked with Tinder to bring Tinder’s innovative swiping UX to OkCupid Locals, while both Match and OkCupid have provided Tinder with product and technical expertise to help guide its growth,” OKCupid and Match.com CEO Sam Yagan told VentureBeat via e-mail.

Now OKCupid members on the iOS app have Tinder-like functionality under the “Locals” section of the app. And, because OKCupid has you fill out a profile and answer questions, the OKCupid matches are likely more relevant than Tinder’s.

The new Tinder-like swiping feature has only been live inside the iOS app for a week, and it already is attracting strong usage numbers.

“Adoption has been great, our ‘connection rate’ and messaging engagement is exactly the same as Tinder’s,” OKCupid general manager Christian Rudder told us. “We’re getting about 20 million votes a day, which, given that it’s just one of many options on OkC, we feel very good about.”

Tinder gets far more than 20 million votes a day, but since that’s the only way to use the app, OkCupid is doing well in comparison. The whole exercise shows IAC’s investment in many dating properties (OkCupid, Match, Tinder, OurTime, Chemistry, Meetic, and more) is paying off because the teams can help each other reach more single people.

“We have a portfolio of great consumer products built by the smartest people in the industry who regularly brainstorm and collaborate to create the best user experiences for singles,” Yagan said.

Photo illustration via Sean Ludwig/VentureBeat