As of last week, it appears everyone's favorite/least-favorite dating app, Tinder, has plans to test a few new features in 2018. Among them are looping videos, an option for women to message first and a location-tracking feature that allows users to share their favorite, most-frequented spots with their matches.

Earlier this year, Tinder rolled out the remarkably boring newsfeed feature, presumably so you can stay up to speed on your matches’ latest hail mary attempt at finding love or getting laid. In the latest round of testing, looping videos allow users to post brief, boomerang-esque videos, similarly to the ones you see on Instagram.

Additionally, the proposed location-tracking feature gives users the opportunity to connect in real life, whether that be over a favorite dog park, a new ramen restaurant or the exact location of their first restraining order. Of course, user location data can’t unknowingly or automatically be shared with others. Users can easily turn the feature on or off and your location check-ins will be wiped after 28 days. Having long since been popularized on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, the concept isn’t new, but when considered in the context of dating, there may be just as many reasons to get excited as there are to hesitate. According to a tweet from Tinder’s director of product revenue, Jeff Morris Jr, location-tracking is designed simply to “extend further into the life of singles.”

In a last ditch effort to compete with arch nemesis dating app, Bumble, Tinder will also be testing a user control option that allows women to decide who sends the first message. Whether or not that feature will lend itself to a more manageable influx of unsolicited dick pics remains to be seen, however, the overall forecast looks like dating apps may, in the future, actually lead to dating. 

A girl can dream...