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With today's competition in the dating app market, success doesn’t come easily. You may offer a unique concept, flashy interface, or outstanding branding, but it’s the tiny details that create a seamless user experience and engagement.
As technologies advance and customers’ expectations shift, the features that set your app apart might no longer be enough. To keep going, you have to refine and upgrade even the most standard elements of your platform.
In this article, we’ll explore the latest trends in familiar features and how they’ve been reimagined in leading dating apps.
Profile Prompts to Simplify Profile Creation
Profile Prompts are user-friendly features helping to overcome the “what should I say about myself” block. They navigate users’ journey of profile creation in a more creative and fun way as they are usually short, pre-set questions or sentences that take one minute to complete.
Did you know that filled “About me” section increases the number of replies by 60%? But instead of thinking about another essay you need to come up with, answering a couple of questions to reveal your personality seems much more exciting. For example, "My perfect Sunday...", "The way to win me over is...", or "I'm overly competitive about...".
This approach not only solves the users’ pain but also raises the general profile quality on the platform. Apart from that, prompts can be utilized as opening lines to start a conversation and thus break the “what do I say” paralyzes.
It’s hard to tell which app was the first to introduce profile prompts to the world, but one of them was Hinge. The app set up the whole prompt playground, with a bunch of options to choose from. Users can write small texts with emojis, record voice answers, or create playful quizzes like “one truth and two lies”.
Bumble is very similar. Prompts like "My ideal weekend includes..." or "A fun fact about me is..." help to highlight the personality and provoke the reactions of potential matches.
Super Likes / Super Swipes / Roses to Stand out from the Crowd
In the ocean of matches and messages, it’s easy for a humble “like” and a person who sent it to remain unnoticed. To help our Romeos and Juliets stand out and express their very special interest, the Super Like was created.
Since it’s usually limited (you can not send it to everyone!), it’s more valuable, making the recipient feel special and more likely to check out the sender’s profile. Also, it prioritizes your profile in the swiping game before the match is made. And even if your love interest doesn’t have a premium membership to check who liked them, they’ll still see who superliked them. That makes the feature so special and helpful in date-hunting, so as an app owner, you can bravely monetize it.
On Tinder, it’s called Super Like, on Bumble - Super Swipe, and Hinge users send each other roses (how romantic is that?). This feature is limited in free versions, however, in premium memberships you can use it more often.
Pricing
| Bumble | Hinge | Tinder |
|---|---|---|
| 2 SuperSwipes: $5/each | 3 Roses: $3.33/each | 3 Super Likes: $9.99 ($3.33/each) |
| 5 SuperSwipes: $4/each | 12 Roses: $2.49/each | 12 Super Likes: $30 ($2.50/each) |
| 15 SuperSwipes: $2.67/each | 50 Roses: $1.49/each | 50 Super Likes: $75 ($1.50/each) |
| 30 SuperSwipes: $2/each |
By the way, if you don’t have SuperLike on your dating app, but want to add it, SkaDate can help with implementation. As one of the money-making features, SuperLike can increase your revenue through in-app purchases or subscriptions. That’s why it’s a great investment, just consider it.
Selfie Video and Photo for Automated Profile Verification
With the growing need for safety measures and authenticity in online dating, profile verification systems are in high demand.
About three years ago Tinder introduced a photo verification system, where users were asked to replicate a specific gesture from a reference photo, and then take a selfie. Although the verification on Tinder was and still is not mandatory, it added a trust layer to verified accounts. Ultimately, it’s the end users’ choice with who to talk.
Unfortunately, when nimble criminals match with evolving technologies, a static image can’t be trusted enough. So selfie video verification was introduced as a more advanced verification measure.
The technology behind this video selfie verification is FaceTec technology - one of the identity verification providers that measures a face in three dimensions and analyze how it matches the ID’s photo. The company has an impressive list of clients such as Volkswagen and HSBC Bank, however, this solution is quite costly for startups and small companies.
But the alternative has been found. In 2023, AWS (Amazon Web Services) launched a more affordable service - Amazon Rekognition Face Liveness -which offers verification for just 1.4 cents per check.
The verification process is divided into two parts:
- Liveness Check: This involves recording a video of the user. Only a real person can pass this verification, making it impossible even for a 3D mask to deceive AWS.
- Photo Verification: During the video recording, AWS captures a screenshot of the user’s face. This screenshot is then compared with the photo previously uploaded by the user. If the faces match, it confirms that the person in front of the screen is the same as the one in the photos.
What’s great about this technology is that both the liveness check and photo verification are now automated. No more overloaded moderators who used to manually check IDs, and compare the person’s gesture on selfies with the references.
Registration with no login and password required
There are a couple of reasons why the traditional registration method with password and login is no longer preferable.
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People are tired of creating and remembering another password they’ll likely forget.
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Using email and password for logging increases the risk of account takeover attacks. When an email address is known to be registered on a site, attackers can exploit this information to attempt unauthorized access through automated scripts or software.
One of the solutions to that is using an OTP (One-Time Password) method. An OTP is a randomly generated code, often 4 digits, that is sent to the user’s email and can be utilized only for registration or sign-in once. We are all familiar with this method as being an additional layer of the account verification process. However, a one-time password can be a usual way of logging into the account. As users keep forgetting their passwords, why not send them a temporary one straight away? In a nutshell, no password - no problem.
- People are spoiled with simple solutions like signing in with their Google account or other social media. However, Google SSO (Single Sign-On) and Google One Tap are more likely to be used for a dating app. Here are a couple of benefits they bring to the table:
- Google One Tap offers even more convenience. If a user is already logged into their Google account, a pop-up appears during the sign-up process, allowing a one-tap registration. This makes the routine process quick and easy. This is how it looks for iDates:
- No need to conduct email verification as email in Google SSO is always valid. That’s especially helpful for mass emailing as more valid emails guarantee you fewer hard and soft bounces and a higher deliverability rate in general.
- Better than any social login. Why not use Facebook SSO you may ask. Well, many users are reluctant to link their social media with dating apps for many reasons. People may want to keep their dating life private or simply separate their romantic activities from their social world. Google, however, seems to be a more neutral option.
Moreover, the is a case study done by Pinterest showing how effective Google One Tap can be. After the introduction of the technology to their system, the number of sign-ups increased by 47% for web and mobile apps and 126% for Android users. Hopefully, such results can inspire you to seriously consider Google One Tap for your app.
Messages attached to likes
As a general rule, the conversation starts after both users match. However, allowing people to interact with profiles beforehand increases the chances of a thriving connection. Sending short messages with likes or reacting to a posted prompt or photo grabs the attention. And it’s also fun.
On Tinder, you can message an attractive candidate by attaching a short (max. 140 characters) message to a SuperLike. The app also tests a “First Impression” feature for their Platinum members, that allows them to reach out to a romantic interest right from the Discovery page. We can’t say that Tinder is very generous with its users as both of the features are paid.
On Hinge, for example, the number of sent reactions such as messages with likes, roses, and prompt answers, are aligned with the general number of likes you can send per day.
Bumble calls this feature “a compliment”, and they can be paid for profile photos, prompt responses, or bios. Bumblers are permitted to send a limited amount of compliments for free, then, they have to purchase to send more.
Pricing
| Bumble Compliments | Tinder | Hinge |
| 2 compliments: $6/each 5 compliments: $2/each | Can be sent only with SuperLikes (see SuperLikes pricing) | Free |
Profile Boosts
Almost all dating apps encourage users to “Boost” their profile and ego by increasing their visibility in the app. When the feature is activated, the boosted profile is shown more frequently and prominently in other users' feeds for a set time. More views lead to more likes and matches, and the rest you can figure out.
"Boost" on Tinder elevates your profile to the top of the list for people in your area for 30 minutes. If that’s not enough, the "Super Boost" can be purchased additionally, so your status as a “local celebrity” will be extended for a couple of hours more.
On Bumble, the feature is called "Spotlight" and it does the same as Tinder’s Boost - places your profile above others in the swiping game. Yes, for this privilege, you have to pay. However, apart from the feature you get the disclosure of the fact that you used it. So you may not be as humble as you write in your profile, but no one finds out that you paid to get more attention.
Hinge has a "Boost" option that highlights your profile to increase your visibility. It works similarly to Tinder and Bumble, aiming to bring more attention to your profile for a short period.
Boosts are often used by users who want to increase their chances of matching with someone, especially in crowded dating markets or during peak times when more people are active on the app.
Pricing
| Bumble Spotlight (30 min,) | Hinge Boost (1h) | Tinder Boost (30 min.) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Spotlight: $11.99/each | 1 Boost: $9.99 | 1 Boost: $7.99 |
| 5 Spotlights: $5.00/each | 3 Boosts: $8.99 each ($26.99) | 5 Boosts: $7.00/each |
| 15 Spotlights: $3.34/other | 5 Boosts: $7.99 each ($39) | 10 Boosts: $6.00/each |
| 30 Spotlights: $2.50/each | ||
| SuperBoost (6h): $69.99 | SuperBoost (24h): $19.99 | **SuperBoost (3h): $33.99 |
| SuperBoost (12h): $129.99 |
**Tinder SuperBoost is available only for Tinder Plus, Tinder Gold, and Tinder Platinum members and makes the user’s profile up to 100x more visible.
Final words
Nothing stays still. Technologies, people, their habits, and demands - everything evolves. That's why staying ahead of the curve requires more than just the basics.
Things like profile prompts, SuperLikes, and simple login with Google One-Tap improve the general experience with dating apps and set up new standards. Once used for that, people react to them as new basics. It’s remarkable how small addons and improvements can change the game by adding more value to the end user and monetization potential for a company.
Through the examples above, you see that sometimes instead of inventing the wheel you better remember that the devil is in the details.
And finally, just a reminder: if you took a liking to any of the features we've discussed, don't hesitate to contact SkaDate. We can assist with development, design, and consultation to bring your ideas to life.
Alexa is a sure-handed digital marketing person who helps small and middle-size businesses to grow online. She believes that a well-thought SEO strategy, smart targeting, and communication strategy could skyrocket any business.
