

Saudi youth couldn’t date openly a decade ago. Now Tinder is booming.
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Swiping through Tinder in Saudi Arabia, a profile of a woman in her mid-20s includes photos of her manicured hands holding flowers, a matcha latte, a tennis court and some art. She reveals no photos of herself.
“Looking for a partner who can play sports," her biography reads. “And if you are looking for a fun and short relationship, swipe left." Another profile of a woman in her early 20s obscures her face with emojis or her phone blocking view. She features photos from her point of view—reading in a cafe, driving with a puppy in her lap, traveling around Istanbul.
One man shares images with his face showing, wearing a thobe and headdress while holding a falcon on his arm, with other photos at the gym and pool. Another man includes only a hook emoji in his bio—a signal that he is looking for a hookup. It may seem like an unusually covert way to date in the eyes of many Americans.
But young Saudis are navigating a burgeoning world of romance, as the country’s loosening of strict moral codes gives way to a dating culture in bloom. Look no further than the millions of people who downloaded Tinder in Saudi Arabia over the past five years to understand how much the Islamic kingdom has relaxed its customs around courtship. It is a significant change from the days when most meetings between young people were carefully managed by relatives with an eye to marriage, and any form of premarital romantic relations was off limits.
Read on livemint.com