Feeld Launches New Augmented Reality Dating App Signal

Augmented Reality is the future of dating, at least according to the folks at Feeld. The company whose original app was marketed to those interested in threesomes is betting their new app Signal will be revolutionary for the online dating market.

Signal will hit the market in the summer of 2018 according to Feeld. It works by giving members access to a secret location visible through the app, allowing them to meet people this way instead of endless matching and messaging.

The company notes that most dating apps operate in a way that is counterproductive to what people want. Instead of encouraging folks to meet in real life and leave the app, the apps have created a game-like stickiness. App users become addicted to swiping and being on the app rather than pursuing “real-life” relationships.

Feeld has had its share of challenges in the dating app market. In 2016, the company (whose original dating app was called 3nder – a play on Tinder and threesome) was sued by Tinder for benefitting from its brand name. As a result, the company had to rebrand itself to Feeld.

Signal isn’t the first AR dating app. In June 2017, FlirtAR hit the market, though it has yet to take off in the wake of Bumble and Tinder. It works simply in theory, according to an article in Tech.co. Through facial recognition technology, users are able to spot other users nearby, even in a crowded room. This will bring up their profile, measuring compatibility in real time, so you can see your option in person and in essence “size them up” digitally before you introduce yourself.

The problem with FlirtAR is that users would have to hold their phones up toward various people, playing with the angle, in order for the AI technology to register. Who isn’t going to notice if you’re waving your phone in front of them? So, it could be a little awkward using FlirtAR in a practical way and hoping you can make a smooth introduction after that.

Signal seems a little different, in that it gives people a location to meet, rather than using facial recognition to identify them in a crowded space.

“We don’t want to have people hooked on a product but to offer our members even more ways to connect and meet other like-minded humans,” says Dimo Trifonov, Feeld Founder and CEO. “Signal is a way of using technology to transcend technology; it eliminates the need of matches and algorithms by allowing people to encounter each other in real life.”