Matching

Online dating algorithms have gotten a lot of attention (and criticism) because they’re the basis of how matchmaking works. Many dating apps are secretive about their matching process, but traditionally, algorithms match people on the basis of profile information, questionnaires, and user preferences.

But according to a recent article by Gizmodo, online dating companies can collect more information about their customers through analyzing user behavior, which includes what users do on social media as well as on the dating app. Companies are now starting to use this behavioral data for matchmaking purposes rather than relying on profiles and user preferences.

eHarmony, Match and OkCupid are known for their long surveys and profile questions, which they maintain helps them more accurately assess potential matches. But dating apps like Tinder, Bumble and LoveFlutter prefer mining users’ social media streams, bypassing questions and looking to online behavior.

Tired of swiping right and exchanging flirty emojis, only to be ghosted before you’ve ever met in person?

Craig Cole was disillusioned with the lack of face-to-face meetings in online dating, so he created Doppler Social App to get singles out from behind their screens and on dates IRL.

“In my experience, once I swipe right and match with someone, I immediately either connect with them through the phone and it fizzles out over two weeks, or we continue talking and make plans to meet up that never come to fruition,” Cole wrote for Built In Los Angeles. “We spend so much time ‘talking’ over text and through apps, that we never actually make time to meet each other in person. We are constantly canceling plans and flaking out on our friends or potential dates. I was tired of the disconnect." 

For information on the science of attraction, few names carry more weight than Eli Finkel.

Finkel is a professor at Northwestern University who studies interpersonal attraction, marriage, conflict resolution, and how social relationships influence goal achievement. In his role as director of Northwestern’s Relationships and Motivation Lab (RAMLAB), he has published 130+ scientific papers and is a regular contributor to the Op-Ed page of The New York Times. He’s also the author of a best-selling book, The All-Or-Nothing Marriage, and was called "one of the leading lights in the realm of relationship psychology” by The Economist.

So when Finkel makes a pronouncement about dating, we listen. His most recent research has looked into dating services and matching algorithms, in hopes of answering the most important question of all: do they actually work?

How Hinge Matchmaker Works

We normally frown upon butting into the love lives of others, but Hinge has launched a new app that hopes to make it socially acceptable to hook up your friends.

Hinge Matchmaker is designed to let you pair up your pals who are already on the dating app. After downloading the app and logging in, Matchmaker will scan your Facebook friends list for people who have Hinge profiles. The app then presents two of your single Facebook friends at a time, leaving it up to you to decide whether you think they’d be a solid match.

If the answer is yes, you can suggest the match and even add an icebreaker message to get the ball rolling. Your suggested match will see each other on the regular Hinge app, along with your note, and can choose whether to continue the conversation or not. There’s also the option to focus on a specific friend’s dating life by locking their profile, which allows the matchmaker to rotate through the available matches for that person alone.

Badoo Look A Like

Ever downloaded Tinder or Bumble in the hopes of meeting someone who looked like Ryan Gosling or Chris Pratt? Well, look no further – dating app Badoo has launched its new Lookalikes feature to help you out.

The app provides a list of various celebrities for users to choose from (think Beyonce, Kim Kardashian, Jessica Alba, Henry Cavill, Jake Gyllenhaal, and even Donald Trump). When you click on that celebrity’s photo, a list of choices with profile pictures of your matches appears.

The app uses facial recognition technology to scour their database of 350 million daters to deliver the results. The matches aren’t exactly spitting images, but there are certain features that they and their celebrity counterparts have in common to consider them a lookalike. (Although I question a 40-something Jennifer Lawrence, for instance).

How many trends and buzzwords can you fit into a single business idea? Matchpool may have set a new record.

The company is a dating platform that describes itself as “a decentralized matchmaking protocol which uses group dynamics to help participants match with each other.” Others simply call it “Slack Meets Tinder.”

Matchpool raised over $5.7 million in 48 hours in an Initial Coin Offering (ICO), a crowdfunding mechanism modeled after the Initial Public Offering (IPO) process of conventional companies. And in keeping with that high-tech theme, Matchpool’s most successful users earn cryptocurrency rewards for their matchmaking efforts.