Grindr rolls out “tapping,” a new Facebook-like poking feature, for some reason

In 2017, saying hello to a potential hookup is simply too much trouble — and Grindr knows that. That's why it's rolled out a new feature, called "tapping," which lets users "tap" someone they fancy rather than greet them textually.

Grindr told Mic there was no official press release for this strange new feature, but it's clear what it was modeled after: poking, the creepy Facebook tool that empowers users to virtually prod each other back and forth until the end of time.

There's no clear use for Grindr's new tapping feature, other than to shift the onus of saying hello onto the object of your affection rather than simply saying hello yourself. If someone taps you, their profile will say "so-and-so tapped you an hour ago."

This tapping feature comes hot on the heels of "gaymoji," Grindr's last update that introduced several special emoticons — things like "Kiki," handcuffs, bears and one that some thought was a reference to crystal meth — specifically tailored to the LGBTQ community. Well, OK, maybe just the "G."