Tinder originally utilized a modified version of the Elo rating system—the exact same mathematical formula used to rank professional chess players—to secretly score the physical attractiveness of its users.

A closer look

Tinder originally utilized a modified version of the Elo rating system—the exact same mathematical formula used to rank professional chess players—to secretly score the physical attractiveness of its users. The algorithm would analyze how many people swiped right on your profile compared to how many you swiped right on, assigning you a hidden desirability score that determined who you were allowed to see in the app. If you were consistently rejected by high-ranking users, your score would plummet, banishing you to the digital equivalent of the minor leagues. There is something deeply dystopian about knowing that a dating app treated our desperate search for romantic validation exactly like a competitive e-sports tournament, meticulously calculating our lack of raw sex appeal with cold, unfeeling mathematics just to keep us swiping through the void