Gone are the days when online dating was considered a taboo. In fact, statistics reveal that today more than 27 percent of the committed relationships started via the Internet. So, the internet is certainly a great medium for dating and relationships.
This is the very reason behind the increasing number of dating mobile apps and websites all across the world. As per the research, there are over 20 million matches on these platforms across the globe, which means there are around 40 million users of these apps. Hence, the dating app market is booming and there are absolutely no signs of it declining at any time soon. Instead with increased internet usage and penetration among people, the numbers would witness a massive rise.
So much so, that research predicts that around 50 percent of married couples would have met online by the year 2031. Right now, the average online dating service user spends $243 annually. These dating apps today are a lot like social networking and when most people around are using them, others feel they should start using them as well.
However, despite the surging numbers of dating apps, there are not many apps that meet the expectations and preferences of users. Hence, there is a lot of scopes for businesses to come out with their own unique mobile apps, offering something extraordinary to make it special for the users.
If you are an entrepreneur looking to develop a dating mobile app, then this blog will tell you exactly how you can make a great mobile app with absolute quality to enchant the audience. But before that let’s first understand what the audience of this segment really expects from the dating apps.
What your audience really wants?
Research by Applause reveals that the most important attributes of a dating mobile app remain the privacy and security that users of this app category look for. UK crime statistics vouches for this concern. As per the data referenced by BBC, in five years, a rise has been noticed of people who were reportedly raped on the first date by someone whom they met via a dating website or via a mobile app.
So, if you wish to create a dating mobile app for your business, then it is integral to invest in proper security checks for people signing up with your dating app. It is essential to provide a safe platform and user experience, and this would give a huge competitive advantage to your app.
Once the security has been fully ensured, the next important aspect is providing an intuitive user experience to your app users. Like, taking Tinder for example, to a large extent the credit for its prominence among the users goes to its ‘swipe’ feature and sophisticated user interface. Another of the dating apps popular among the users is Bumble. Zoosk, Hinge, OkCupid, whereas Grindr & Her are making a mark in the gay dating arena.
So, how exactly can you provide an experience that the consumers are looking for with the dating mobile app? Let’s find out next.
How to create a dating app that is instantly liked by your audience?
After conducting a study in the arena of dating apps, we found out that there are a few integral features that make a dating mobile app worthy and likable, i.e. Messaging, Social Media Integration, Matching People, & Geo-positioning. Below, all of these functionalities have been discussed in detail.
Social Media Integration
Most number of dating apps out there, allow people to signup via Facebook. Both for iOS as well as Android users. Now, you may think that the Facebook signup is simply there to make it convenient for users to register with just one click, instead of having to type their email address and password. But that’s just partially true. In fact, the Facebook signup feature offers access to user data that can be used in your dating mobile app to suggest nearby singles, find common friends & interests, and to fill out other profile information regarding a user.
Related Blog: How to Develop Dating App – Key Features & Development Cost
Hence, when using the Facebook signup feature in your dating app, you must make it clear to your users that no information associated with the dating app would be posted on the users’ Facebook timeline. This is because, despite the prominence of dating apps, there are still people who shy away from dating apps or sharing about the same with others. Thus, most people don’t really trust the Facebook signup option owing to privacy concerns.
There are a number of dating apps using the Facebook signup for the authentication reasons, in order to provide a safe dating platform to the users. They check whether the user is a real person and uses the photos to confirm the identity. Also, there are several dating apps displaying user pictures as a Pinterest-style imageboard. And this again is to increase the app’s credibility. This way, it is ensured that the pictures posted by users are clear and don’t include nudity, and they can be validated manually.
In earlier times, people used to create a fake identity to access online dating, however that scenario has changed today owing to the security, privacy and more important transparency provided by the dating platforms. The more transparent your platform is, the more users it can attract. After all, the ultimate aim of dating apps is to ‘meeting people’, hence it is vital to convincing users to show their real names and real information in their profiles.
Match People
After all, matching people is the main aim of dating mobile app development. Like, Tinder is matching users on the basis of their location and preferences, whereas in Hinge, its users can only match with the people their friends know already. Even though this means limited potential swipes, still the recommendations are usually safe and curated. Then there is Dine that matches people in a really different manner. It does so by integrating the app with Yelp in order to get users out on a date in a restaurant. Post-filling a profile, Dine app asks the user to pick three restaurants or bars where they’d like going on date. After that, the user gets matched with two-five people per day as per the places the user chose, and then the user can request for a date.
Messaging
To allow the users to strike a conversation it is vital to integrate chat messaging features into the dating mobile app. This not just facilitates conversations but also makes the app more engaging. At the same time, this is also a secure way of communication for women, as this way the women can assure that an abusive user doesn’t get hold of their contact details. A number of users on a dating app platform chose to not exchange the contact details after they found out that the matched user is not compatible.
However, in the dating apps, it is often noticed that users keep playing instead of immediately sending a match to their new match. There are so many options available out there after all to explore. Hence in order to convince people to strike conversations with the matches, reminder messages or push notifications can be sent to them reminding them of the matches waiting for them.
Geo-positioning
Often there is no point of matching with a person who is in another country or far away from your place. Hence, location-based matches tend to be a crucial feature for a dating mobile app. This way, people living in the same city or nearby area can be prioritizing while looking for a match.
Monetization of a Dating App
This is an important factor for online dating apps. On the online dating platforms, the average user tends to spend 90 minutes every day, hence there is huge potential for revenue but with risks involved. The most established ways to earn from a dating app are:
- Subscription Model: This model comes with great features at a monthly/quarterly, or yearly basis. Users can choose the subscription on the options available as per their liking.
- Freemium: Tinder, the renowned dating platform, uses the freemium revenue model. Here, all of the basic services are free, while premium features can be availed by paying a specific fee. Like, in the premium model of Tinder, i.e. Tinder Plus, the service enables unlimited matches and also going back on profiles on which the user already swiped left on.
- Gifts: The app can be integrated with gift sending functionality, where the users can send gifts, such as chocolates, flowers, and greeting cards by paying a sum of money.
- Advertising: Given the competition out there, advertising can be quite a risk. Usually, users don’t like the idea of repeated ads showing up on the app and they might end up uninstalling the app. Hence, subtle ads that are un-interrupting can only be used.
- Third-Party Services: It can be a great option for a dating app to offer other services like food ordering, taxi booking, or booking a table, or movie tickets.
What future holds for the Dating Apps?
Going by the popularity enjoyed by dating apps, in the future, it won’t be surprising to see a lot of technological advancements in the arena of dating apps. Like there could be Video Dates. Meanwhile, Hinge already has this feature of video chat option. It allows to the first date virtually so to avoid any disappointments upon meeting. After all, 44 percent of the online dates have proven to be disappointing after meeting the match offline. Due to this reason, a virtual video date holds great potential.
Next, it can be also a quite cool dating in Augmented Reality. Here, the users would catch dates. Like, a dating app FlirtAR is the first of this kind and works a lot like Happn. It is just that here the users see familiar surroundings with a balloon marker. As the user clicks on the balloon, it opens a profile. Also, it would be possible to make the first move on the app if they like you back, or in person, if they’re nearby.
Another innovative concept of Virtual Reality, a technology that would make the romantic blind dates possible, virtually. Dating in Virtual Reality would be highly efficient, as well as it would save time. It will also help to develop meaningful connections and allows to date without having to step out of homes, hence saving money. These dates would be fun through gamification. Even though absolutely nothing can replace physical presence, still this concept of dating in Virtual Reality paves way for a promising future. In fact, it may be possible that in the future, the VR technology would succeed in transmitting physical sensations like handholding, hugs, even though in a virtual space.
Final Note:
Ultimately, it is quite complex to create a Dating mobile app, as it requires a whole lot of intellectual & financial resources. Several things need to be considered before the start of the mobile app development process, like determining the target audience, studying the competitors, designing matching algorithms, chatting, and security features. It will be a costly affair if you desire to create a high-quality app, however, choosing or hiring mobile app developers having years of experience could help.