Tinder Introduces Tool to Verify Users' Heights on App

Update: We've been had. Tinder's new 'height verification tool' (which they announced on March 29, two days before April 1) turned out to be an early April Fools hoax by the company.

Well-played Tinder, well-played indeed.

Original story follows below:

The online dating app Tinder is trying to bring some truth back to the online dating scene.

In a move that will likely be cheered by women and jeered at by men, Tinder announced Friday they were introducing a new tool that has the ability to verify a user's height.

The company called their new feature the "thing you never asked for, but definitely always wanted."

"It’s come to our attention that most of you 5-foot-10ers out there are actually 5-foot-6," the company said on their blog. "The charade must stop. This type of dishonestly doesn’t just hurt your matches — it hurts us, too. Did it ever occur to you that we’re 5’6 and actually love our medium height? Did it ever occur to you that honesty is what separates humans from sinister monsters? Of course not.

"Well, height-lying ends here. To require everyone under 6’ to own up to their real height, we’re bringing truthfulness back into the world of online dating."

Users input their true, accurate height, along with a screenshot of them standing next to any kind of commercial building. Some kind of proprietary magic happens back on Tinder's servers, and if users are telling the truth, they'll get a 'Height Verified' badge displayed on their profile. The company says they've had the tool for years, but are only now rolling it out to users after complaints of 'Height' catfishing.

Tinder also points out that there are fewer than 15% of American men actually taller than 6'.

"We’re expecting to see a huge decline in the 80% of males on Tinder who are claiming that they are well over 6 feet. That’s fine by us — as long as we’re all living our truths.

Photo: Getty Images