As the temperature rises, so does interest in dating, if app usage activity for Tinder tells us anything.
Part of the Match.com ($MTCH) dating empire, Tinder has always been a popular way for singles to meet up, but as of last week, its usage ranking via Facebook login has risen to the third-most popular app of all, behind only Spotify and Candy Crush Saga.
Tinder was one of the first and most well-known apps to use Facebook login — a login credentials token that allows users to bypass creating a unique username for a service. It made particular sense for Tinder, as it helped to assure users that those using the app were not just real people, but they may even have some mutual friends who could vouch for potential matches. In fact, showing that a potential match had mutual Facebook friends was an early selling point for Tinder.
Tracking an app's login ranking via Facebook data over time can provide useful insight as to an app's relative popularity, whether it's in comparison to other apps or to itself over time.
In the case of Tinder, at least historically, usage tends to rise during late fall, or "cuffing season", when singles look to nest up for a cold winter.
But this summer appears to be a bit different. Either the app is simply more popular right now, or singles are simply feeling the heat.
About the data
For this story, we looked at Facebook login ranks for the various apps. As you know, most dating apps (called "Lifestyle" apps in Facebook's parlance) utilize Facebook login to ease the signup and information-gathering process. They also contend that it improves security, as they can assure that users have "real-world" friends and aren't just trolls or predators.
