I know there has been a ton of work on distributed / decentralized social networking protocols. Is there something out there that aims to replace the functionality of apps like Tinder, but in an open fashion?
What would be your goal here? Usually the goal of decentralizing is privacy and separation, but normally the goal of dating apps is to find as many options as possible.
The goal would be to make the various tradeoffs transparent, whereas the apps manipulate the process to maximize engagement. YOUR goal in using dating apps is to find as many options as possible, but the APP's goal is to make money...