São Paulo, December 2025 – Tinder, the world’s most popular dating app, launches the “Crush Feelings” campaign in Brazil this week. The initiative proposes a reflection on the whirlwind of emotions involved in meeting someone new and highlights that, contrary to what it seems, using the Swipe™ feature is not simply about the gesture, but rather about reactions and feelings.
A recently published study by Forbes Health showed that 78% of American users report burnout on dating apps, citing difficulty in finding real connections. With this data in mind, Tinder partnered with GUT and the 20DASH studio to conduct a groundbreaking experiment with six app users, monitoring their brain activity while using the platform. The goal was to reveal what happens “inside” during a match, using technology to highlight emotions that the user doesn’t always consciously register.
To achieve this, the brand used an EEG (electroencephalogram) device, capable of capturing the brain’s electrical activity and translating it into metrics, in order to identify correspondences between feelings and sensations during the swipe , based on the following parameters:
● Facial expressions: winking, left/right wink, sideways glance, frowning, raising eyebrows (surprise), smiling, teeth grinding, laughter, and ironic half-smile.
● Emotional state: excitement, prolonged excitement, frustration, engagement, relaxation, interest/affinity, and concentration.
In the test, Tinder users equipped with EEG devices viewed profiles on a screen connected to the app, allowing real-time recording of how their bodies reacted to each potential match. The experiment revealed that, by following brain responses, expressions, and emotional state, the choice suggested by the device sometimes pointed in a different direction than the user would spontaneously choose, making the result a big surprise. In practice, the test shows that we can often ignore our true reactions and end up swiping on “autopilot” on Tinder.
“The true purpose of “Crush Feelings” is to show that using the Swipe™ feature on Tinder carries much more meaning than a simple gesture,” says Maria Fernanda Zanusso, Senior Marketing Manager for Latin America at Tinder . “The experiment is an invitation to slow down and pay more attention to the feelings that arise within us when deciding on a match. The idea is also to provoke reflection on the fact that, when we look a little deeper, there may be many other signs beyond appearance that indicate interest or even a potential connection, whether it be shared tastes, habits, or values, which are often there in bios and profile information. In the end, true connections begin even before the match, and that’s what makes Tinder a universe of possibilities.”
“This is an experiment where Tinder puts feelings in control so that matches are made based on body language, showing that there are many feelings involved when we use Tinder, but sometimes we don’t pay enough attention to them. It proves that nothing happens automatically, and a connection can indeed change your life,” explain Mauricio Dias and Eduardo Nosé, Creative Directors at GUT.
