When a match is made, it’s time to celebrate. To keep the user in high spirits, these moments are often more dramatic than the rejections. Bumble celebrates the matches with a boom and the picture of both parties, while Inner Circle just puts them under a tab in your Activity section. The fear of being rejected vanishes with each joyful match.
What happens after the initial flutter of a match? Every app treats taking things to the next level a bit differently.
While all of the reviewed apps have basic text exchanges to allow users go get to know each other on a 1:1 chat, a few took things to the next level. Inner Circle, Happn, and Tinder integrate third-party services like Spotify and Instagram. Sudy lets users send each other voice messages so you can feel that hotline bling.
Grindr’s parti-pris makes its way into its users’ conversations with a series of custom emoji… some more subtle than others. Along with flesh-colored aubergines, users can also share photos, videos, music, and location. Let’s meet RIGHT NOW.
With all of this sharing, educating users about safety is a must. Tinder does this with their Safety Tips section which provides users with useful information about online behavior, offline behavior, and health. Grindr also has a help center with a sexual health resource section.
Knowing the truth doesn’t always lead to trust.
The magic behind matching algorithms ranges from more to less explicit across different apps. Surprisingly, the most transparent mechanics aren’t the most efficient in matching people.
Grindr and Happn make clear that location is a key parameter to promote one person over another. It meets the purpose of finding someone nearby, but it is not proven that your neighbor is your soul mate. Continue reading
