Tinder launches Social to let users hang out in groups

Now, you can use Tinder to plan a night out and take along your friends to meet strangers.

The popular dating app, owned by website operator Match Group Inc, has launched "Tinder Social" that allows a user to form a group by adding up to 3 other members and connect with other groups to go anywhere from a concert to a pub crawl.

Users can see who's going out, invite friends to join a group, swipe and match with other groups nearby, make plans on chat and then meet up, Tinder said in a blog post.

"Just remember - at noon the next day, your group expires, your matches disappear, and your Uber turns into a pumpkin," Tinder said. (tinde.rs/2axffvh)

To access the new social platform, a user needs to update the Tinder app and unlock the feature. Once that's done, the user can see their friends who are also using Tinder Social.

To combine groups, at least one user from each group needs to swipe right.

Tinder said Tinder Social was test-launched in Australia and was now available in the United States, India, United Kingdom, Canada and New Zealand.

(Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Ted Kerr and Anil D'Silva)