Tinder’s New ‘Height Preference’ Stirs Debate Among Short Kings

The last time Tinder teased a height verification feature was on April Fool’s Day in 2019. This time, short men  — typically men under 5’10 or so — are still waiting for Tinder to say “April Fool’s.” 

Last week, a Reddit user posted a photo of Tinder’s new height preference feature, which confirmed that the feature will only be available to premium subscribers, such as those with Tinder Platinum. 

“Preferences show you people who match your vibe, but won’t limit who you see — you’ll still be able to match with people outside of your selections,” according to the screenshot of the app. 

Tinder emphasized that the feature is not a filter, but a “preference,” which is why it doesn’t actually filter profiles based on preferred height. As a paid feature, the height preference will simply be a guide for the algorithm so it learns to recommend profiles that more closely correspond to the premium user’s preferences. 

The preference may be in testing mode for now, but this hasn’t stopped people from debating whether a height preference or filter will be more harmful than helpful, including to Tinder’s overall financial success. 

“I 1000% wouldn’t have met my wife if this filter existed,” u/VanceIX wrote on Reddit. “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.”

Can Filters Go Too Far? 

Some would argue that alienating an entire sub-sect of daters only narrows Tinder’s demographic — and therefore its relevance — even further, which could be the last thing Tinder needs during this uncertain time for dating apps. 

Others, however, think the preference will help create a more balanced male/female dating pool by convincing more female daters to pay for a premium subscription. “Guys are already more likely to pay, so getting women to pay for height preferences doubles the revenue,” u/Valuable_Recording85 said. 

This Redditor is right: In 2023, Pew found that 41% of surveyed men and only 29% of surveyed women pay to use dating sites or apps. 

According to a Tinder spokesperson, the height preference is part of a bigger effort to create more meaningful matches. Still, the new feature comes at an ironic time for the dating app. 

Just last month, incoming Tinder CEO Spencer Rascoff explained how today’s daters are “not a hookup generation” and want their dating apps to reflect a more down-to-earth, less superficial dating landscape. 

“They don’t drink as much alcohol, they don’t have as much sex … we need to adapt our products to accept that reality,” Rascoff said at a May investors meeting, according to The Wall Street Journal. Providing a height preference seemingly flies in the face of the future Rascoff described. But according to a Tinder spokesperson, this is far from the truth. 

“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,” the spokesperson told DatingNews. 

The height preference is just one way Tinder is attempting to streamline the matching process while providing more value to premium subscribers. 

“This is part of a broader effort to help people connect more intentionally on Tinder,” the spokesperson said. “Our new product principles guide every decision, and this one speaks directly to a few: prioritizing user outcomes, moving fast, and learning quickly.”

It’s true that height is a hot topic among today’s young daters. 

Considering the ‘Short King’ Experience 

It’s not uncommon for short men to feel rejected because of their height. 

“I’ve had some success at 5’4 but few and far between,” u/bman484 said. “It’s only getting worse and worse since covid.” There’s a stark contrast between dating before the dawn of apps and dating today, with many singles lamenting the seemingly simple way things used to be. 

On Reddit, u/IWantTheLastSlice said, “Back in the day, all I had to worry about was being awkward in person, hoping my goofiness was overshadowed by my personality. Now, there’s a whole pre-filtering aspect to dating.” 

For some, saying “I prefer tall men” is as gauche as saying “I prefer thin women.” Although Tinder’s feature is a preference and not a filter, it has still sparked a debate as to whether filtering profiles by physical features may put people who don’t meet uber-specific body standards at a disadvantage. 

There may be a serious double standard at play here, as many Redditors were quick to point out. Some likened a height filter to a bra size filter, a flawed comparison that nonetheless prompts a serious question.  

“How many potential partners will people be weeding out based on shallow superficial characteristics?” u/lothar525 asked. “I think this is already a problem on dating apps … Just because a filter is there, and you can weed out certain people, does that mean you should?” 

This gets to the heart of the average dater’s worries: After filtering for so many characteristics, how will anybody find a match? 

Meanwhile, Redditor u/Sloth-TheSlothful pointed out a potential bright side for short kings: “As a 5’5 dude, I actually welcome this. Saves me the time and struggle,” he said, referring to the awkwardness of a disappointed date who clearly expected to see someone taller. 

Tinder and other dating apps with uber-specific preferences/filters will undoubtedly consider both sides of the argument as the height preference debate rages on. After all, Tinder emphasizes how the preference is just a test — nothing is set in stone. 

“Not every test becomes a permanent feature, but every test helps us learn how we can deliver smarter, more relevant experiences and push the category forward,” according to the Tinder spokesperson.