The coronavirus pandemic has breathed new life into online dating. People who were locked up at home craved social activity. And even those who had not dated on the internet before began to do so. Seizing the moment, dating services began to develop even more rapidly and implement numerous technological innovations to attract new users.
So what quality changes have improved the functionality of dating services? Here’s an overview.
Artificial intelligence in dating
Society is changing. And while in the past people used dating apps to find a partner for the night or a soulmate for life, today the main aim is to find an interesting chat partner. For example, when moving to another city, the first priority is to socialize and make new acquaintances among local people.
In this regard, modern dating services are gradually abandoning mindless swiping, which has worn out users. The main emphasis is on making communication more intimate and deep, enabling people to get to know each other better. For example, the well-known Snack service, which is aimed at a younger audience, banned swipes. Biographies and swipes were replaced with hashtags and likes. And as well as photos, users can upload short videos to their profiles.
The dating industry is actively implementing the latest developments in artificial intelligence. Machine learning technologies are used to personalize the activity of dating services as much as possible. Artificial intelligence learns user preferences and intentions from user behavior and based on this, it looks for suitable matches. This saves users a lot of time because the system shows the user those people that are most likely to be good chat partners.
Voice communication
Some dating services offer users the chance to get acquainted via voice. For example, on the American site Heart to Heart, a user can ask the audience a question or tell a story. Other users can only respond and react with voice messages. Thus, people get to know each other better before moving on to closer communication.
The popular Vox service uses a slightly different method of voice communication. Here users record audio name cards. A match occurs when two people mutually like each other’s name cards. After that, they get access to a photo of the potential partner for 24 hours and can communicate via chat. A kind of “love at first hearing”.
Dating by memes
Memes are another one of the communication tools available on the Internet. In April 2021, developers launched the Schmooze service, designed for a young and active Internet audience. The app invites users to rate multiple memes. And then sets them up with people who laugh at the same jokes they do. Users liked the idea, and the Schmooze audience quickly grew past 300,000 people.
An app inside the app
The Waka mini-application inside the Telegram messenger is popular among modern users. Initially, it worked on the principle of swipes and matches. But subsequently, various gamified options for finding partners were implemented. And instead of swiping photos, users are encouraged to swipe memes or take a psychological compatibility test. The developers do not stop there and constantly implement new personalized game mechanics.
“Judge a book by its cover…”
Many dating services are shifting their focus from outside to inside. But not the Iris service. The system offers new users the chance to evaluate several stock photos. Based on this assessment, the algorithm determines what a certain user likes in the appearance of other people. After that, the system selects matches. Also, the search is carried out both around the world and in the user’s area. And for lovers who met on the app and decided to meet in real life, Iris even promises to pay for a plane ticket under certain conditions.
Virtual dates
The popularity of virtual dating has skyrocketed due to pandemic-related restrictions. Having lost the opportunity to visit public places, people switched to the Internet. And the developers of dating applications hurried to do everything to ensure that communication on the network was as close to real as possible.
In particular, users began to actively take advantage of video meetings. Before the pandemic, this option was provided by only a few large services, and most simply did not have a real need to communicate via video. Today, there are many more people who want to talk face-to-face. Therefore, large services are seriously thinking about not only expanding the possibilities of video communication but also implementing VR technologies.
Due to the growing popularity of video dating, webcam chat services have also become more heavily used.
South Korean cam chat app Azar became one of the top apps in the world in terms of in-app purchase revenue. It is used to meet interesting people around the world. The language barrier is effectively broken by the built-in Google Translate API, which automatically translates text messages. The highlight of Azar is an interactive cam chat with special effects and other goodies that make communication even more interesting and intense. Also, choosing a chat partner by swiping and the ability to re-contact with already familiar users are available.
Another interesting app is Shagle random cam chat, which lets you give each other virtual gifts. Otherwise, this is a familiar cam-to-cam chat with gender and geographic filters, as well as a modern minimalist interface. Shagle operates in more than 70 countries around the world. The developers place their main emphasis on the anonymity of their service.
Among the paid services, it is worth highlighting the live cam chat app CooMeet. Its highlight lies in the fact that the system connects users only with people of the opposite gender. Therefore, https://coomeet.com/camchat is especially popular among those users who are interested in becoming part of a couple. The quality of communication is massively improved by the need to register and confirm your identity. There are no bots and fakes on the site, and when communicating with someone, you can be sure that on the other side of the screen there is a real person, not a bot. For extra convenience CooMeet can be used on a smartphone — there is an official mobile version for both iOS and Android.
Another service that deserves attention is the Imeetzu platform. Here you can upload and share photos. In addition to text chat, there are group video chats where you can have conversations on a variety of topics. Another interesting feature of Imeetzu is its own mini social network, where you can send messages to your new acquaintances, regardless of whether they are online or not.
What is the future of dating services?
It is likely that in the future people will be able to find a friend or mate in the metaverse. Social VR platforms are being actively developed in which it will be possible to personalize 3D avatars, communicate with each other, and explore huge virtual worlds.
And the world’s first dating app in the metaverse has even been created. It’s called Planet Theta. The developers have created a beautiful open-world virtual space where you can meet people and spend time together without even leaving your home.
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