New Delhi, Oct 23 (IANS): Dating app Tinder on Monday launched a new feature that lets friends and family play the matchmaker and recommend profiles for a user directly in the app.

The Tinder Matchmaker, now available in select countries, including India, and will be rolling out to users globally in the coming months.

The new feature essentially integrates the “friend test” into the platform. Users can invite others, whether they have a Tinder profile or not, to view and suggest potential matches.

“For years, singles have asked their friends to help find their next match on Tinder and now, we're making that so easy with Tinder Matchmaker," said Melissa Hobley, chief marketing officer at the company.

“Tinder Matchmaker brings your circle of trust into your dating journey and helps you see the possibilities you might be overlooking from the perspective of those closest to you,” Hobley added.

A Tinder Matchmaker session can be started directly from a profile card, or within app settings. Users can share their unique link with up to 15 friends in a 24 hour period.

After following the link, the matchmaker can either log in to Tinder or continue as a guest (after completing an age verification prompt and agreeing to Tinder’s terms as outlined).

Matchmakers have 24 hours to play cupid before the session expires, where they can recommend profiles for the Tinder user but won’t be able to chat or send messages on their behalf, said the company.

Once the session expires, Tinder users will have the opportunity to review the profiles their matchmakers’ Like for them.

Profiles that received a Like from a matchmaker will be marked as a “recommendation” (profiles sent a Nope won’t change).

“The Tinder user still makes the final call on who to Like - but now knows who their friends are rooting for,” the company informed.

Launched in 2012, Tinder is the world’s most popular app for meeting new people and has been downloaded more than 530 million times. The app is available in 190 countries and more than 45 languages.