How the Pandemic Affected Online Dating Technologies: 5 New Projects

In this article, we will look at new services like https://ladadate.com/asian-brides for dating Asian brides online and dating formats.

14:36 31 January 2022

In March 2020, Tinder recorded an all-time high in daily swipes, with users swiping 3 billion times. From March to May 2020, OkCupid user activity increased by 700%. And the number of video calls in Bumble increased by 70%.

 

At the same time, despite the pandemic and its many restrictions, new technologies in this area have also been actively developed. In this article, we will look at new services like https://ladadate.com/asian-brides for dating Asian brides online and dating formats that have appeared or begun to actively develop during the pandemic.

 

• Hinge: Focus on Secure Communication

The popular dating service Hinge released an update due to the pandemic, which allows users to specify independently a safe communication format for them and meet only with candidates with the same ideas about safety. In this way, users do not have to discuss safety precautions directly at the meeting, which facilitates the process of getting to know each other.

 

• Feeld: Virtual Dating Around the World

Polyamory search service Feeld, known for offering 20 gender identities and orientations, has shifted its focus to virtual dating during the pandemic. So, users are offered various new communication formats with intriguing names “Remote Trios”, “Fantasy Bunker” or “Staying at Home”, which allow you to exchange pictures, join in group chats and share erotic fantasies safely.

 

• Vox: Voice Dating

Vox is one of the most unusual applications in this review — instead of traditional picture swipes, users are invited to listen to audio recordings of voices of different people. The general mechanics, however, remains the same — if you like the voice, then like the user and, in case of reciprocity, get his or her contacts. Vox also has a speed dating format with a random interlocutor — the user is given 60 seconds to decide whether the partner is suitable. Besides, Vox also has built-in games — after the start of communication, the interlocutors can invite each other to play truth and dare or go through an audio quest for two.

 

• Match.com: Community Dating

Well-known service Match.com reports an incredible increase in the popularity of its specialized mobile applications for various user groups, such as BLK for African Americans, Chispa for Hispanic people, or Upward for members of the Christian community. For instance, in the first two weeks of the Covid-19 pandemic, the BLK app saw an 18 percent increase in active users. After another seven months, the increase in activity was already 38%. Since the launch of the application in 2017, more than 4 million people have already installed it.

 

• Filter Off: Video Dates

The CEO of the new dating app Filter Off was relying on video meetings that gained popularity even before the pandemic. And, apparently, he did not lose. The prototype of the Filter Off service appeared several years ago, but the project left the testing phase only a month before the start of the coronavirus pandemic. The application user creates a profile, sets their preferences, after which the curator organizes video calls with three candidates. Calls last only three minutes, during which users must decide whether they want to continue the acquaintance. Thus, without long prefaces, you can immediately go to a personal meeting and quickly form an impression of the candidate.