Online dating application

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An online dating application is an online dating service presented through a mobile phone application (app), often taking advantage of a smartphone's GPS location capabilities, always on-hand presence, easy access to digital photo galleries and mobile wallets to enhance the traditional nature of online dating. These apps aim to simplify and speed up the process of sifting through potential dating partners, chatting, flirting, and potentially meeting or becoming romantically involved over traditional online dating services.

Contents

The launch of the Tinder dating app in 2012 led to a growth of online dating applications, by both new providers and traditional online dating services that expanded into the mobile app market. Online dating apps are now mainstream in the U.S. As of 2017, online dating is the number one method by which new couples in the U.S. meet. [1] The percentage of couples meeting online is predicted to increase to 70% by 2040. [2]

Origins

Tinder was the application that led the surge in mobile dating applications. [3] Tinder was released in September 12, 2012 by founders Sean Rad, Jonathan Badeen, Justin Mateen, Joe Munoz, Dinesh Moorjani, Chris Gylczynski, and Whitney Wolfe. However, other sources state that the founders are Mateen, Rad, and Badeen only. [4]

Usage by demographic group

Online dating applications typically target a younger demographic group. Today almost 50% of people know of someone who use the services or has met their loved one through the service. [5] After the iPhone launch in 2007, online dating data has mushroomed as application usage increased. In 2005, only 10% of 18-24 year olds reported to have used online dating services; this number quickly grew to over 27%, [6] making this target demographic the largest number of users for most applications. When Pew Research Center conducted a study in 2016, they found that 59% of U.S. adults agreed that online dating is a good way to meet people compared to 44% in 2005. This explosion in usage can be explained by the increased use of smartphones. By the end of 2022, it is expected there will be 413 million active users of online dating services worldwide. [7]

The increased use of smartphones by those 65 and older has also driven that population to the use dating apps. The Pew Research Center found that usage increase by 8 points since last surveyed in 2012. [8] A study in 2021 found that more than one-third of seniors have dated in the past 5 years, and roughly one-third of those dating seniors have turned to dating apps. [9]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Morning Consult found that more Americans were using online dating apps than ever before. In one survey in April 2020, the company discovered that 53% of U.S. adults who use online dating apps have been using them more during the pandemic. [10] As of February 2021, that share increased to 71 percent. [11]

Research using Hofstede's cultural dimensions theory has indicated that norms about online dating applications tend to differ across cultures. A study published in the Journal of Creative Communications looked into the relationships between dating-app advertisements from over 51 countries and the cultural dimensions of these countries. The results revealed that dating-app advertisements appealed to multiple cultural needs, including the needs for relationships, friendship, entertainment, sex, status, design and identity. The use of these appeals was found to be 'congruent with ... the individualism/collectivism and uncertainty avoidance cultural dimensions.' [12]

Online dating

After Tinder's success, many others tried creating their own dating applications and dating websites such as Match.Com created applications for convenience. ARC from Applause, [13] a research group on app economy, conducted a research study in 2016 on how 1.5 million U.S. consumers rated 97 of the most popular dating apps. The research results indicated that only 11 apps scored 50 or greater (out of 100) with more than 10,000 reviews from the app store. These include: Jaumo, OkCupid, happn, SCRUFF by Perry Street, Moco by JNJ Mobile, GROWL by Initech, Skout, Qeep by Blue Lion mobile, MeetMe, Badoo, and Hornet. An app with a 50+ score was considered successful. Other popular applications like Bumble, Grindr, eHarmony, chamet [14] and Match scored 40 or less. [13] To ensure privacy for celebrities, Raya emerged as a membership-based dating app, allowing entrance only through referrals. [15] In 2019, Taimi, which started out as an alternative to Grindr launched a first LGBTQI+ inclusive dating app. [16] The ability to identify individuals with similar interests has given rise to a number of popular religious dating apps including the likes of Muzmatch (Muslim), Salams (Muslim), Upward (Christian), Christian Connection (Christian), JSwipe (Jewish) and JDate (Jewish). [17] [18] [19] One of the more notable new apps in recent years is Michat, which has been known to be useful in Indonesia and the rest of South East Asia. [20] [21]

VR Dating

VR Dating is an application of Social VR where people can exist, collaborate, and perform various activities together. [22] Virtual reality apps use virtual and augmented realities to make the dating experience more lifelike and more effective, as well as allow people to expand what is already possible in the world of online dating. [23]

There are several online platforms of VR Dating. The VR dating app Nevermet is the VR equivalent of Tinder, where people can search and find on dates. However, instead of actual real-life pictures, users will update pictures of virtual selves and will be interacting with avatars rather than real faces. [24] Flirtual is a self-contained social VR app that serves to match users who then decide where and how to meet in VR. Flirtual hosts speed dating and social events in VR, which makes the dating experience more fun and intimate. [25] Planet Theta is set to launch on Valentine's Day in 2023, and is considered by some experts to be one of the most state-of-the-art VR dating platforms. Users could meet with the people they choose and go on an experience with them. They could take a walk through an enchanted forest, go grab a table at a bar, or have coffee over a game of cards. [26]

Effects on dating

The usage of online dating applications can have both advantages and disadvantages:

Advantages

Many of the applications provide personality tests for matching or use algorithms to match users. [27] These factors enhance the possibility of users getting matched with a compatible candidate. Users are in control; they are provided with many options so there are enough matches that fit their particular type. Users can simply choose to not match the candidates that they know they are not interested in. Narrowing down options is easy. Once users think they are interested, they are able to chat and get to know the potential candidate. This type of communication saves the time, money, and risk users would not avoid if they were dating the traditional way. [28] Online dating offers convenience; people want dating to work around their schedules. Online dating can also increase self-confidence; even if users get rejected, they know there are hundreds of other candidates that will want to match with them so they can simply move on to the next option. [29] In fact, 60% of U.S. adults agree that online dating is a good way to meet people and 66% say they have gone on a real date with someone they met through an application. Today, 5% of married Americans or Americans in serious relationships said they met their significant other online. [6]

Disadvantages

Sometimes having too many options can be overwhelming. With so many options available, users can get lost in their choices and end up spending too much time looking for the "perfect" candidate instead of using that time to start a real relationship. [28] In addition, the algorithms and matching systems put in place may not always be as accurate as users think. There is no perfect system that can match two people’s personalities perfectly every time. [30]

Communication online also lacks the physical chemistry aspect that is essential for choosing a potential partner. Much is lost in translation through texting. Online dating has made dating very superficial; the picture on a user's profile may cause someone to match or not match before even getting to know their personalities. [31]

After analyzing a significant number of diverse mobile dating applications, researchers have concluded that most of the major dating applications are vulnerable to simple sniffing attacks, which could reveal very sensitive personal information such as sexual orientation, preferences, e-mails, degree of interaction between users, etc. [32]

Furthermore, online dating platforms are also becoming breeding grounds for honeypots wherein attackers create fake profiles to steal user's private information, one such work studies and evaluates user's vulnerabilities of disclosing personally identifiable information (PII) in Tinder, a mobile dating app. [33]

An issue amplified by dating apps is a phenomenon known as 'ghosting', whereby one party in a relationship cuts off all communication with the other party without warning or explanation. Ghosting poses a serious problem for dating apps as it can lead to users deleting the apps. For this reason companies like Bumble and Badoo are cracking down on the practice with new features that make it easier for users to end chat conversations more politely. [34]

Online dating is stigmatized, [35] but it is becoming more accepted over time.

Data privacy

Dating apps and online dating sites are often involved in cases concerning the misuse of data. In 2018 Grindr, the first platform for gay dating is accused to have shared data about the HIV status of its users with numerous companies. [36] Grindr recognized the allegations [37] but claimed that it was in order to optimize its platform which doesn’t convince the LGBT community. Grindr defended itself by sharing the data loss prevention of the company and reassuring the users with the public intervention of its CTO Scott Chen. In Europe, dating platforms care more and more about data legislation because of the GDPR sanctions that threatens companies with economic sanctions.

Other personal data are sold by dating apps. The one that is the most bought by private companies remains the geographical information of users. When the user allows localization, apps record them and store them using Geographic Coordinate System. When a data breach happens, geographical information directly exposes users.

As others applications, dating apps can have breaches: hackers have revealed security issues on Tinder, [38] Coffee Meets Bagel [39] or Adult FriendFinder for instance. On the last one, the data of more than 412 million users was exposed, one of the largest leak in terms of the number of accounts exposed. [40] In 2016, the sharing of personal information from almost 40 million users of Ashley Madison by a group of Hackers, the "Impact Team", revealed their real name, phone number, email address, geographical position and sexual preferences. [41] Ashley Madison assured their more than 35 million users that the service was totally "anonymous" and "100% discrete" but they didn't completely delete accounts when users chose to (and paid for that) or recognize that data had actually leaked in a first time. Some suicides have been reported after the leak. [42] Taimi introduced bank-level security to become the "safest dating app" for gay people to date. [43]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Instant messaging</span> Form of communication over the Internet

Instant messaging (IM) technology is a type of online chat allowing real-time text transmission over the Internet or another computer network. Messages are typically transmitted between two or more parties, when each user inputs text and triggers a transmission to the recipient(s), who are all connected on a common network. It differs from email in that conversations over instant messaging happen in real-time. Most modern IM applications use push technology and also add other features such as emojis, file transfer, chatbots, voice over IP, or video chat capabilities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Online dating</span> Internet service providing potential relationship contacts

Online dating, also known as Internet dating, Virtual dating, or Mobile app dating, is a relatively recent method used by people with a goal of searching for and interacting with potential romantic or sexual partners, via the internet. An online dating service is a company that promotes and provides specific mechanisms for the practice of online dating, generally in the form of dedicated websites or software applications accessible on personal computers or mobile devices connected to the internet. A wide variety of unmoderated matchmaking services, most of which are profile-based with various communication functionalities, is offered by such companies.

OkCupid is a U.S.-based, internationally operating online dating, friendship, and formerly also a social networking website and application. It features multiple-choice questions to match members. Registration is free. OKCupid is owned by Match Group, which also owns Tinder, Hinge, Plenty of Fish, and many other popular dating apps and sites.

Match is an online dating service with headquarters are in Dallas, Texas. The company has offices in Dallas, West Hollywood, San Francisco, Tokyo, Rio de Janeiro, and Beijing. Match is owned by Match Group, which owns several online dating services.

Mobile dating services, also known as cell dating, cellular dating, or cell phone dating, allow individuals to chat, flirt, meet, and possibly become romantically involved by means of text messaging, mobile chatting, and the mobile web.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mobile social network</span> Social networking on mobile devices

Mobile social networking is social networking where individuals with similar interests converse and connect with one another through their mobile phone and/or tablet. Much like web-based social networking, mobile social networking occurs in virtual communities.

Dating is a term coined in America to signify that stage of romantic relationships in which two individuals engage in an activity together, most often with the intention of evaluating each other's suitability as a partner in a future intimate relationship. It falls into the category of courtship, consisting of social events carried out by the couple either alone or with others.

3Fun (3FUN) is a location-based mobile online dating application for Android and iOS. 3Fun is available in the United States, United Kingdom, Brazil, the Netherlands, and several other countries. As of May 2019, there were approximately 100,000 monthly downloads, and more than 2 million total downloads. In January 2022, 3Fun partnered with British security company DigitalXRAID to implement penetration testing.

This is a partial, non-exhaustive list of notable online dating websites and mobile apps. All services in the list that have an entry, whether they support heterosexual connections, currently support homosexual connections.

Grindr is a location-based social networking and online dating application targeted towards members of the gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer community.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tinder (app)</span> American online dating app

Tinder is an online dating and geosocial networking application. In Tinder, users "swipe right" to like or "swipe left" to dislike other users' profiles, which include their photos, a short bio, and a list of their interests. Tinder uses a "double opt-in" system where both users must like each other before they can exchange messages.

Bumble is an online dating application. Profiles of potential matches are displayed to users, who can "swipe left" to reject a candidate or "swipe right" to indicate interest. In heterosexual matches, only female users can make the first contact with matched male users, while in same-sex matches either person can send a message first. The app is a product of Bumble Inc.

Match Group is an American internet and technology company headquartered in Dallas, Texas. It owns and operates the largest global portfolio of popular online dating services including Tinder, Match.com, Meetic, OkCupid, Hinge, PlentyOfFish and OurTime, among a total over 45 global dating companies. The company was owned by IAC until July 2020 when Match Group was spun off as a separate, public company. As of 2019, the company had 9.3 million subscribers, of which 4.6 million were in North America. Japan is the company's second largest market, after the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Feeld</span> Location-based online dating app

Feeld is a location-based online dating application for iOS and Android that facilitates communication between people interested in ethical non-monogamy, polyamory, casual sex, kink, swinging, and other alternative relationship models and sexual preferences. According to a review from The New York Times, over a third of users are on the app with a partner, and 45 percent identify as something other than heterosexual.

happn is a French location-based social search mobile and web application that allows users to like or dislike other users, and allows users to chat if both parties liked each other. The app is used as an online dating application.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The League (app)</span> Social and dating mobile application

The League is a social and dating mobile application launched in 2015 and available in several cities all over the world on iOS and Android.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hinge (app)</span> American online dating app

Hinge is a dating app that claims to be the only dating app that emphasizes long-term connections between users. It is aimed towards a younger demographic than Match.com and eHarmony, such as the demographic using Tinder. The app was fully owned by Match Group as of February 2019.

GuySpy is a location based online social network, gay dating app. It is available on Android, iOS and via web browser. The app uses location based services like GPS to connect gay, bi and curious men. Through their platform users are able to create profiles with detailed descriptions and with multiple photos. They are able to chat with guys around them and send additional photos, have video messaging and provide their exact location. There is a voice option within the app as well. The app is similar to Grindr, GuySpy also has a map feature that allows the users to search for other guys in other towns and cities. The app was officially launched in 2011 for GayWhistler's WinterPride festival. In 2013 GuySpy launched The PEARL Pride Party app, which was helping users to keep up to date, build and maintain a personal schedule, share information via social networks related to global LGBT pride events and circuit parties.

JSwipe is an online dating application targeted at Jewish singles. It was launched in April 2014, over the Passover holiday, by founder David Yarus and three co-founders under the business entity name Smooch Labs. Yarus, who was also working for Birthright Israel and Hillel at the time of JSwipe's creation, initially viewed the app as a lark before seeing the development of the Jewish dating app as combining his professional interests, passion, and expertise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taimi (app)</span> Social network and dating platform for LGBTQI+ people

Taimi is a social networking and dating app that caters to LGBTQI+ people. The network matches internet users based on their selected preferences and location. Taimi runs on iOS and Android.

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[1]

  1. ↑ Top 50 Dating Apps in UAE
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