Another pesky issue for men on Tinder: Sometimes, the women they’re matched with turn out to be prostitutes or webcam girls looking for clients. Once, Nick was messaging with a woman who wanted to video chat. She asked him to create an account on a website and input his credit card information, which is when he realized she wasn’t his long-lost soul mate.

And what do the denizens of Tinder think about this?

(For the record, the folks at Tinder have taken action to prevent sexcam workers and prostitutes from soliciting clients with the service.)

“The vision is more about social discovery than just dating,” he told Betabeat over the phone. “We launched our dating vertical first, because it was a sticky place to start … Facebook connects you with your existing network of friends; Tinder is where you go to meet new people.”

After logging on, I attempt to start a number of conversations with the line “Have you ever used Tinder strictly to make new friends?” After asking about 17 guys in a row (for some reason Tinder only matches me with men, no matter how I toggle my preferences), I get nothing in response. No one wants to be friends with me! Am I using the wrong Kanye quote as my tagline?

Finally, though, someone writes back. “New friends with benefits, yes,” he says, appending a smiley face sticking its tongue out.

Despite all this, Tinder co-founder and CMO Justin Mateen insists the app isn’t for hooking up

“Well, that’s not what I mean,” I respond. Lees verder →