Mumbai: Just when you thought the proverbial fish in the Tinder sea were getting creepier, the dating app rolls out a new update exclusively for women. Now, you can choose to be the first one to drop a message to your Tinder match, as per your availability. 

Female users can access My Move through a toggle within their in-app settings. When it is enabled, women can exclusively message first by initiating these messages on their own time. The setting can be turned on or off at any point. 

The setting was first announced earlier this year and has been in testing. India is one of the first markets where it is being rolled out. Tinder India GM, Taru Kapoor says, “We are constantly evolving our platform to help create a low-pressure environment where our users feel in charge of the connections they make. By giving our female users the ability to exclusively send the first message if and when they want to, My Move provides women with the autonomy to choose how to engage with their matches and empowers them to control their experiences. We believe that true choice is letting women be who they are and empowering their choice to shape their own identity and experiences.”

She also points out that conversations about dating are still relatively nascent in India and if you have had the dreaded brush with 'Wanna make fraandship?', you can't help but agree. However, according to her, women, in particular, are seeking out ways to take charge of their romantic and social experiences.

Clinical psychologist Sonali Gupta also agrees. She says, “Indian women have a long, complicated history where they have been given a few choice options, and this has been culturally normalised. Enabling the choice option comes from a space of changing this narrative, yet trusting women and their instincts about when they wouldn't want to use it. As a therapist, women who prefer not to use this setting are still making a choice.”