- Match Group CEO Spencer Rascoff posted an open letter on LinkedIn admitting his company’s dating apps are falling short and don’t feel like places “to build real connections.” He’s now calling on Match employees to offer feedback on how to best improve their apps like Hinge and Tinder.
Finding love on dating apps has felt so bleak one user told Fortune thatTinder, Hinge, and Bumble feel like a “wasteland.”
“I think the user pool on a lot of these apps has declined,” Max Gomez, a Gen Z communications professional, previously told Fortune. “Gen Z is just simply not using these [apps] as much anymore.”
Match Group’s new CEO admitted as much in a letter posted Thursday on LinkedIn, saying the company’s dating apps like Hinge and Tinder haven’t been up to snuff.
“Too often, our apps have felt like a numbers game rather than a place to build real connections, leaving people with the false impression that we prioritize metrics over experience,” wrote Spencer Rascoff, Zillow’s former CEO who took the top job at Match Group in February. “That needs to change.”
In his letter, Rascoff called on employees to confidentially share their “unvarnished feedback” on products to help improve the apps.
“We know that listening to users isn’t enough—we need to move with urgency and increased accountability,” Rascoff wrote, adding Match Group would be “increasing expectations around in-office collaboration” to make changes happen faster. Rascoff has been revered for the company culture he created during his time at Zillow.
Match Group declined to provide further comment on Rascoff’s letter.
Analysts have been warning about the downfalls of dating app companies like Match Group and Bumble for a while. Although Bank of America analysts said in a Feb. 5 note Rascoff’s appointment could be a positive for the company, “the online dating industry faces continued headwinds to user growth.”
Global users for dating apps like Tinder, Bumble, and Hinge declined 6% year-over-year in the fourth quarter of 2024, according to Bank of America research. During the past five years, Match Group stock has tanked nearly 70%, plus the “overall sentiment on dating apps largely remains negative,” according to a Jan. 28 analyst note from Citi. However, Match Group total revenue grew 3% year-over-year to $3.5 billion, according to the company’s earnings report on Feb. 4.
Some younger people have also ditched dating apps entirely, yearning for real-life meet-ups instead.
“I don’t want to just be chatting people online,” Louise Mason, a millennial marketing specialist from Doncaster, U.K., previously told Fortune. “I don’t want a penpal.”
Rascoff feels users’ pain.
“I’ve heard incredible stories of love,” he wrote. “But I’ve also heard frustration—from users searching for real, meaningful matches and expecting more from the experience.”
Better product offerings could help Match Group climb out of its slump. Citi analysts noted they’re watching for new products and updates that could improve Match Group’s performance and outlook.
“Improved product development is critical in our view to improve underlying user trends long-term,” Citi analysts said.
Rascoff said Match Group is on top of product updates and developments in his letter shared on LinkedIn.
“Transformation is already underway,” Rascoff wrote, adding Hinge, Tinder, and other brands in its portfolio are finding new ways to implement AI into product development.
“But it’s not about technology alone,” he added. “Our people, our culture, and our deep commitment to our mission will be the driving force behind this transformation.”
Analysts from Wolfe Research also appear optimistic about changes Rascoff could usher in as the new CEO of Match Group.
“We believe investors will welcome his communication style and cadence favorably,” Wolfe Research analysts wrote in a Feb. 5 note. “A lot depends on successful execution this year, and the company now has another chance to prove out its strategy.”
