China’s Tinder embraces AI as it eyes growth from the country’s singles

Artificial intelligence (AI) is finding many applications in everyday life in China – from police identifying criminals on the run to helping doctors diagnose skin diseases. Now there’s one more: making sure potential dates do not excessively touch up their profile pictures before posting them on China’s Tinder-like dating app.

In fact, AI will be a key focus for Tantan this year, chief executive Yu Wang said in an interview on the sidelines of RISE Hong Kong on Wednesday.

The technology will be used to help the company accurately identify new users, boost the accuracy of advertising, as well as contributing to growth in terms of user numbers and revenues, he said.

“[By using] artificial intelligence and algorithms, there is huge room for improvement to a point where as our users swipe more, they see pictures more suitable to their tastes. They can then quickly match and start an engaging conversation,” Wang said.

Tantan, one of the most popular smartphone-only dating apps in China, shares a strong resemblance to Tinder in terms of looks and operation.

Both use location based technology to match people in the vicinity who have similar hobbies and interests. In both, users swipe the screen right to “like” the match and swipe left to “pass”. Mutual likes between users enable them to connect and set up a face to face meeting. The major difference is that Tantan requires a mobile number for the sign up process, whereas Tinder requires users to log in via Facebook, which is banned by the Chinese government.