How to make a dating app in 3 easy steps?
We strongly believe in three main points, standing for the best user experience possible, and they are access control, matching, and messaging. So we will focus on them and have a detailed look below.
Access control
Most of the dating apps allow logging in with FB or other social media account. And it is not because logging in in one tap is faster and easier than typing the password and email
If the user signs in with FB, the app gets the access to the user data. This data can be used later on to fill the profile information, suggest single ones in the area and so on.
If you decide to use this strategy and allow to log in via FB, make it absolutely clear to the users that their data is secure and there will be no shares about their activity in FB. Yes, dating apps are a common thing, but most people still feel a bit embarrassed using them. However, they do not trust all these “log in with social media” options, being concerned about privacy.
A famous lesbian dating app uses logging in via FB to check if the user is a female. However, “Her” checks if the email is used to create accounts in the social media, so they can verify if a newcomer is a real person and if she is a woman as well. It helps to prevent accidental matching with straight men and time wasters.
Zoosk uses picture verification. Hinge and Bumble get a lot of data about you – including your full name, education, mutual friends as soon as you matched with some person.
Dating apps tend to display pictures in a Pinterest-like way. One of the reasons is to make the apps look like a kind of “dating Instagram”. Another (and, well, the main one) reason is just to increase credibility. It is possible to validate the pictures manually so they don’t include nudes.
Earlier, when the dating apps appeared, they became the synonym to the word “face”, simply because people were hiding behind weird nicknames and fake pictures. Nowadays the situation in the market is different and users value transparency among the other things.
The main purpose of a dating app is to meet another person, so you will have to push people to post their real pictures and use real data.
Celadonsoft Case Study - Dating App
Matching people
To successfully match people, regarding all the factors, with the help of old good Math and algorithms is nearly impossible. Maybe it can sound strange, but we do believe that complicated matching algorithms is not a critically important point for a dating app. And a lot of examples prove it.
For example, Tinder uses interests and location to match the singles. Hinge goes further and allows matching only with the ones your friends know. Surely, it limits the swipes. But the suggestions are much more secure and accurate.
Dine uses a complete unique way of matching users. They can be taken out to the restaurant as far Dine is integrated with Yelp. As soon as the profile information is filled, the app requests to pick three places where you would like to go for a date. Then it matches you with a couple of people who chose the same places, so you can ask them out.
Should you forget about algorithmic way? Of course, not. There are successful apps, using it for matchmaking too. For example, OkCupid. The app will guide you through the poll and compare the answers to the ones, the other users gave. You will see the “percentage of matching”, which is, technically, the percentage of the same answers.
Zoosk’s learns and matches using simple Yes/No questions. Another app, Match, uses Synapse, matching algorithm under the hood and make suggestions using lots of factors.
It is not the point how exactly you are about to match people, but you should definitely do it, as far it is one of the main purposes of the dating app.
Messaging
If you want to make a good dating app, make a good messenger first. It is simple – the point is to start a conversation after the matching. There are a lot of options – for example, you can encourage the users to play more, as Tinder does.
The truth is, in most cases people simply ignore the matches. Maybe, you can push retention rates up if you specify who can message first? It is the way Bumble works, by the way. There ladies have to message first. JSwipe uses the “expiring matches” method, so the parties are literally enforced to get in touch immediately.
OkCupid is in another team. It means that there’s no limitations and restrictions on the messaging. It leads to more conversations, but to more inappropriate messages as well. So users may leave the app and stop trusting the dating apps as well.
One of the safe and simple way to encourage people to start talking is push-messages and reminders. So they will not forget about the matches, selected for them.
Read also: How to Make an App Like Discord: 7 Essential Features and Step-by-Step Guide
