Dating app Tinder introduces verified accounts for lonely celebrities looking for love

Celebrities: they're just like us! Or, they now have the option to be more like the estimated 50 million of us who use the dating app Tinder. Until Tuesday, the app, which allows users to swipe through photos of nearby users, wasn't easy to use if you happened to be famous. Besides the obvious peril of people assuming you're just a creep posing as a good-looking, beautiful and successful person online, Tinder profiles required a Facebook account to set up, which means celebs who stay off Facebook (or only have a page for professional purposes) couldn't sign up.
Now, however, the new verification system will allow lonely celebs to take a shot at love — or maybe just some awkward texting before a stranger asks them for nudes. The new verified profiles have blue checks next to users' photos, similar to the ones used by Twitter and Facebook. Of course, how many celebrities will actually sign up remains to be seen. At the very least, it seems like good plot fodder for a remake of Notting Hill.
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Marshall Bright is a digital production assistant at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked at America's Test Kitchen, SAVEUR and Studio 360. Originally from Chattanooga, Tennessee, she now lives in Harlem with her cat, Pickles.
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