Tinder Hack Sees Men Flirt With Each Other

A programmer has tricked men using the Tinder dating app into thinking they were talking to women - when they were actually talking to each other.

The California-based hacker temporarily changed Tinder's API - the software's building blocks - to see how men would react to each other's flirting techniques.

The hacker, known only as Patrick, told The Verge website: "The original idea was to throw that back into the face of the people doing it to see how they would react."

He said that within the first 12 hours he was overseeing 40 conversations - but he insisted that safety measures were put in place.

Telephone numbers shared by the men were scrambled and Patrick said he stepped in when people attempted to arrange meetings.

The hack used dummy accounts, and Patrick posted some of the conversations online with the names and images removed.

In one conversation a man says: "Here's to praying I don't have daughters one day. Super scared. I'd be a crazy over protective father."

The other man replies: "Huh? What do you mean being a father?"

In another a man asks: "I don't understand you. The pictures you posted here aren't your pictures. Is that right?"

The response: "I'm confused by what you think right now. Maybe it's a language misunderstanding."