How to Build a Dating App?

Each day millions of people meet on their first date. Some of them are looking for a romantic relationship, some are willing to find a one night stand. But they all have a common need – a place where they can easily find the perfect match. Here comes the question: is it possible to find your soulmate online? And what platform provides the best conditions for dating: websites, social media or maybe mobile apps are the new black? Dating industry says “yes” by generating billions of dollars in revenues.

Are mobile dating applications on demand?

Though finding your soulmate online sounds quite appealing, many people still find this way a bit embarrassing. Despite the rising popularity of apps like Tinder, many users have mixed feelings about them due to a controversial experience they had while using them.

Still, people want to be admired and hope for better. The proof is in numbers. Just look at statistics of people, who are actually using dating apps on a regular basis.

Share of internet users in the United States who have ever used online dating sites or apps:

Source: Statista

The survey has shown that 30% of Americans aging 18-29 are constantly using dating apps, while 31% have previously used them (and maybe found the partner). That’s a huge market, right? You may wonder if it makes sense to build a dating app these days. It seems that the market is already saturated with many products and by dominant players like Tinder. 

Your judgments regarding this market oversaturation may be correct at first. However, for numerous dating apps, most of them do not cover all user needs, lack quality, or have a low security level.

Let’s see more figures. The online dating services market size has the potential to grow during 2020-2024, and the market’s growth momentum will decelerate during the forecast period.

What are users looking for when using dating websites or apps?

One more survey performed by Statista revealed the main usage purpose of dating apps. In other words, it answers the question what are users looking for when downloading dating apps.

According to the survey, 84% of users are willing to find someone to build romantic relations with. That means they are taking dating apps seriously and believe that it’s possible to find a partner online. 43% of users find friends online and only 24% are using dating apps to meet someone for sexual relationship.

Source: Statista

Summing up, despite all the inconveniences or confusion, people are constantly searching relations and they tend to do it online. The conclusion is obvious – creating dating apps is a tasty slice of cake for mobile developers. And Tinder has fairly proven it to be right.

What are users expecting from a dating app?

Going for a date with somebody you absolutely don’t know is not that wise. The reason why people dislike dating portals lies in the huge difference between the person you are chatting with online and the person you meet in reality. In addition, the days when anonymity was widespread and anyone could hide behind the nickname are gone. Dating apps pose serious privacy concerns and the lack of protection makes people doubting whether to use the service.

Overcoming this barrier is the new trend in the dating industry. The more transparent and secure the dating app is, the safer its users feel.

What do users expect from dating apps:

• Safety.
• Private information protection.
• Relevant matching engine.
• Intuitive design.

What are the features of Tinder app?

No doubt, Tinder is the most popular dating app nowadays. But what’s the secret ingredient?

Below is the complete list of Tinder’s features to analyze:

Login:

Profile View Main:

• Image/s
• Name, age
• Institute/company detail

Inner View:

• Location
• No. of Interests in FB
• Common connection

Static screen:

• Purchase paid version
• Not Interested (Swipe left or Click Cross button)
• Like(Interested) (Swipe right or Click Like button)
• Super Like(Swipe up or click Star button)

My Profile:

• Images (Can Swipe if having multiple images)
• Name, Age, About(Info) – date come from FB

EDIT:

• About User (Enter Details)
• Current Work
• Show my Instagram Photos (Connect Instagram)
• GENDER

Setting:

• Discovery Setting
  • Location
  • Distance
  • Gender
  • Age range
  • Username – claim yours

App setting:

• • Notifications:
  • NEW Matches
  • Message Likes
  • Messages
  • Super Likes
• LEGAL
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Services
  • Licenses
• Share Tinder
• LOGOUT
• DELETE Account

Help & Support

• FAQ, Contact and more

Tinder Plus:

• Send More super likes
• Rewind your Last Swipe
• Turn off Ads
• Change Your Location

How to create an app like Tinder?

The first thing you need to do before building matchmaking app is to determine its gist. Will your app be location-based, matching or made for women only? Or maybe you have an absolutely new idea?  Nevertheless, no matter what main feature your choose, consider to add several of these features to your dating app:

Mobile app security

Adding social-media sign-in to dating app can cover two problems at once. Users don’t need to fill in a huge application form to enter an app, instead, they only tap on Facebook or Twitter login button. This function greatly increases user acquisition rate.

Besides the convenience of use, social media login is a confirmation of personal identity. In fact, going on a date with someone you met only on the Internet can be dangerous, so security check is an essential feature. Plus, it complicates the creation of empty profiles process and fends off bots.

Mobile app security also means confidentiality of personal data stored within an app. You should always warn users about personal information you might use and ensure that your app keeps user’s social media accounts separated from a dating profile. The truth is some users are hiding the fact they use dating apps, especially if they are cheating or hiding their sexual orientation. After all, marital status is the private information that must be protected.

And the last component of security is management of user-generated content. You should carefully filter inappropriate materials like nudity or any kind of harassments if you want your users to come back. The best way to control the content is manual validation, but don’t forget to insert “Report” button.

Chat

Communication is a key feature of any dating app. It’s obvious that users would like to chat before meeting in person. Furthermore, you can monetize this option. For example, 10 chats a day are free of charge, and if user wants to reach more people, he/she has to pay.

Matching

Typically, dating apps match people according to the chosen filters like preferences, location, gender etc. This method is simple yet effective, as users get more possible matches available. When it comes to implementing special matching algorithms, users get more relevant results (according to the algorithm opinion). But the reality is opposite as you never know what kind of person you might fall in love. Humans feeling are unpredictable and a machine can barely understand them.

Another example of simple matching functionality was introduced by Facebook. The company rolled out discover people feature, that helps users find new friends and establish connection. Facebook discover people function works based on pretty simple algorithm that matches users that are related to each other by the number of indicators like, similar employer, location, recently interested events, etc.

Location-based services

Another useful function of dating app is matching engine. Who wants to chat with someone living 1000 miles away? For example, Happn app sends push notifications when users are located nearby in the real life.

Push notifications

Sending users kindly reminders about in-app messages and matches makes them open your app again and again.

How To Get Money With Dating App?

Monetization of dating app is very easy because most user are ready to pay for meeting the one and  only, making them interested as well as pleased with attention and gifts. There are some ways of monetization:

– Subscription or Membership. Being the primary monetization model, subscription can generate huge revenue to dating app owner. You can create memberships options with different conditions, duration, and prices that would be attractive to the target audience.

– Freemium. Being one of the leading monetization models in the online dating industry, it satisfies the primary needs of paid and free service users. With another words the user may download the app and start use it for free, and later they can add options by paying for them.

– Ads/Affiliate marketing. By placing reasonable amount of ads into your app it is possible to get profit. Also, by showing ads, you can start effective and long-lasting partnerships with other companies.

– Turn-off advertisement function. When people have an opportunity to turn ads off, especially when the price for doing it is reasonable, they won’t let a few cents stand on their way to happiness.

– Account promotion. Dating app users want to stand out from the crowd, and you can use it as advantage. If you offer an attractive account promotion, many users will take it if it has a reasonable price and their accounts are guaranteed to be on the top of the list.

– In-app purchases. As one the way of monetization is user’s ability to purchase a stand-alone feature. It can be an incognito mode to view profiles and keep an identity a secret, or it can be additional matching functionality. So, as long as the feature you sell is useful, you can monetize it.

Conclusion

What all people are looking for is love. Considering how much we rely on mobile communication today, creating a trustworthy application for communication with strangers becomes more important than ever before. What makes dating apps successful is the number of happy-ever-afters, so consider adding features that will help users to find partners for long-term relationships. That will make them happy, and you’ll get a high viral effect.