The dating app Tinder has begun trialling a divisive new premium height filter which will allow paying users to select how tall their potential matches will be.
Tinder is testing height as a paid preference – rather than a hard filter – meaning the setting is more of a suggestion to the algorithm rather than a tool to completely block users of a certain height.
However, the trial filter has nevertheless proved controversial among social media users, who’ve voiced concerns that shorter men will suffer as a consequence of the height preference.
“It's over for short men. What are they going to do now?” one person wrote on X/Twitter.
Meanwhile, another user concluded: “They put the Tinder height filter behind a paywall, short kings are safe. Pretty girls don’t pay for dating apps,” they joked.
Other social media users thought the tool was a positive development and would avoid time wasting on the app: “Why is this a problem?” they asked. “If someone likes a certain height, go for it. It also weeds out the [people] who don’t like your height.”
Heightism is rife on dating apps, with men routinely adding two inches to their stature on their profiles to be more appealing to women, according to data compiled by OKCupid.
Height discrimination works both ways, with a 5 ft 4 woman receiving 60 more messages on the dating platform each year than a 6ft woman would.
Hinge, another dating app which is also owned by Tinder’s parent company Match Group, already has a height filter for premium users.
On Tinder, general users can already adjust several search preferences within the app’s settings, including age range, sexual orientation and distance.
“We’re always listening to what matters most to our Tinder users – and testing the paid height preference is a great example of how we're building with urgency, clarity, and focus,” a Tinder spokesperson said. “This is part of a broader effort to help people connect more intentionally on Tinder.”
In response to the news, one man shared: “I 1000 per cent wouldn’t have met my wife if this filter existed, I’m short (5’5’) and definitely would have been filtered out immediately just by even a basic filter for 5’7’+ (slightly below average height and over).
“God speed to my fellow short kings. Glad to be out of it.”
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