Finding love in the 21st century may be harder than it was in the 12th century, especially now that we have tools like dating apps showing us just how many fish (and in some cases, piranhas) in the sea there really are. But if you’re tired of constantly looking for love on your phone, one dating app may be able to take some of the work out of swiping. Tinder has introduced a new artificially intelligent feature called Super Likeable, which is said to “delight and surprise” users by introducing them to “people [Tinder] think will be of special interest to you.”
Look out, matchmakers — A.I. is coming for your job.
The feature seems to build off of a two-year-old Tinder gimmick called Super Like, which is a way for users to show one another that they’re particularly interested, as opposed to just reasonably interested (which is apparently what a flippant right swipe suggests). Unfortunately, however, Super Likes haven’t proven quite so popular: for example, the Verge noted that the feature made some folks feel uncomfortable, and Mashable reported that the Super Like button felt a bit desperate to use.
Alas, the Super Likeable function does depend a bit on Super Likes, too. You see, Tinder determines whom its AI tool believes you’ll be especially compatible with, and on occasion, will show you four folks on a single card that may be Super Likeable to you. From there, you’ll be given a free Super Like (that’s right, you have to pay for multiple Super Likes) that you can send to any one of these four lucky lads or ladies. You can’t search for users who might be Super Likeable — Tinder will decide when to show them to you as you swipe.
As it stands, Super Likeable is being tested in New York City and Los Angeles. There’s not been quite enough time to determine if Tinderers feel the same way about this new AI feature as they do about Super Likes as a whole, but we’ll soon be able to tell if Tinder really knows their users better than their users know themselves.
Instagram is testing a new format for long-form videos called Features. It allows select creators to upload horizontal videos running up to 90 minutes long. Instagram has already tested the new format with creators in Brazil, and now, it's expanding to tens of thousands of creators across the US.
How will Instagram's new Features format work?
Instagram is making its way to yet another screen, and this time, Apple TV is getting a taste of the Reels rabbit hole. The company has launched a dedicated Instagram app for Apple TV, bringing Reels, longer videos, and live shows to the big screen. So, if watching one quick clip on a phone somehow turns into an hour of scrolling, there's now a much larger screen for that.
Instagram brings Reels and more to Apple TV
I have lost count of how many times I have gone to bed thinking I will finally sleep on time, only to somehow end up scrolling Instagram or X again. A few minutes turn into an hour, then another, and before I notice, it is 2 or 3 a.m. The next morning, I am usually annoyed with myself because I could have just slept and felt considerably better for the day ahead.
It is also a surprisingly hard habit to beat. Knowing you should put the phone down does not always help once it is already in your hand. Brick Night is a new gadget built around that exact problem. Instead of relying on you to remember to turn on an app blocker, it automatically restricts selected apps and websites when your phone enters your chosen sleep space during the hours you set.