Dating App (Tinder)

Difficulty: Medium

What It Tests

Profile matching, geolocation filtering, swipe mechanics.

Topics Covered

• Proximity / Geo Search
• Caching
• Database Design: SQL vs NoSQL
• Real-time Updates
• API Design

Hello Interview Breakdown

Read the full Hello Interview breakdown →

Approach Hints

• Use geohash to filter nearby profiles
• Pre-cache a deck of profiles for each user
• Record swipes in a KV store, match notification via WebSocket or push
• Filter already-seen profiles with a bloom filter

Video Walkthroughs

• System Design Interview: Design Tinder (Ex-Meta Staff Engineer) →
• Tinder System Design | Design Online Dating Application →