Hot or Not? Tinder's Secret 'Select' Platform Reserved for Rich, Famous Singles

Invitees can subsequently nominate others for membership — although nominees cannot in turn nominate others, preserving the app's exclusivity.

It's uncertain how Tinder selects which users to invite, but an apparent unifying feature is they're highly attractive, and often fairly high-profile — one factor could be the app's Elo score, the algorithmic rating system which covertly rates users based on "thousands and thousands" of signals.

Select's design differs from the standard Tinder interface — it features a navy blue "S" at the top of the screen, in place of the traditional Tinder flame, and other blue accenting in place of the usual orange. Tinder Select members can switch between the "elite" version of the app and its humble, standard form using a toggle switch.

Tinder has repeatedly declined to comment on the story — and given how long it has apparently existed without word spreading, it's arguable the dating app giant may not intend to publicize the service, at least for the time being.

Secret "elite" versions of dating apps and invite-only exclusive dating platforms are nothing new.

For instance, the little-known Raya app was launched in 2015, which allows users with sizable Instagram followings, unique and creative jobs, and references within the Raya community, to join. Invitation-only dating app The League cross-rates social media profiles (including Facebook and LinkedIn) to pick singledom's creme de la creme, based on education, popularity and profession to determine who was allowed on the platform.

Less exclusively, Bumble has an abstruse Vibee subsidiary — not so much an "elite" version of the app for the great and the good among its membership, but a platform for "highly rated" users who are responsive and responsible in their Bumbling.

Regular users who didn't make the cut can vent their frustrations on Hater, the dating app that matches singles on mutual objects of detestations — or drown their irritation with some illicit substances, purchased from one of the network's many drug dealers.