The Hidden Hand Behind Your Swipes

Tinder, Hinge, OkCupid, The League. If you’ve ever wondered why using these different dating apps feels similar, it may be because they’re all owned by Match Group, the company that helped start online dating in the 90s, and now owns two-thirds of the dating app market. Today, Match is a dating app conglomerate with millions of users and over 45 brands around the world. That’s billions of dollars worth of swipes and subscriptions. But does paying for what Match Group calls “superpowers” — things like Hinge’s ‘roses’ and Tinder’s ‘super likes’ — get users any closer to connecting with real-life people?  Hosted by Sangeeta Singh Kurtz (@sangeetaskurtz) and Lakshmi Rengarajan (@Shmi_So_Far) Subscribe for free. Be the first to hear next week's episode by hitting the plus sign in your favorite podcast app Follow @TheCut and @verge on Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Om Podcasten

Big tech is transforming every aspect of our world. But how? And at what cost? This season of Land of the Giants – The Twitter Fantasy – will tell the story of Twitter (X) at a crucial moment for the platform, exactly one year after Elon Musk took over. Hosted by Vox senior correspondent Peter Kafka, the four-episode season will survey the company's outsize influence on politics and culture. How did Twitter become the Internet’s town square, for better and for worse? And where is it heading, now that Elon’s in charge?  From Vox and the Vox Media Podcast Network. New episodes drop every Wednesday.