Features

There are more dating apps on the market than you could possibly count, with new ones popping up seemingly every week. Though they cover a diverse - and sometimes outright strange - range of people and interests, the vast majority are made with heterosexual couples in mind.

Winkd is a dating app based in Sydney which just launched this month. It hopes to take a different approach and join the likes of Grindr as a successful service built by putting the LGBTQ community first.

Founders Diana Kalkoul and Neda Robat-Meily, who are both queer, found themselves frustrated with the lack of inclusivity in most popular dating apps. But rather than giving up dating apps altogether, they decided to create their own.

If anyone can make bold predictions about the future of online dating, it’s industry game-changer and Tinder CEO Sean Rad. This month at the StartUp Grind Global Conference in California, he shared that dating apps could soon be using augmented reality technology to help users meet.

He explained that the technology would help people meet in real time, and work similarly to Pokemon Go. For instance, if you walk down the street and point your smartphone at someone you find attractive, you can find out immediately whether or not they are single. And if you are single and dating, you could also send virtual signals to someone you pass, letting them know you’re interested. This could work through technology like Google Glass as well as your phone.

We’re 2 months into 2017, but it’s not too late to call some of the hottest trends we expect to see in online dating this year.

Online dating is one of the most dynamic industries in the world. New services are constantly emerging, along with new technologies that keep the way we date in a constant state of evolution. Things won’t be any different in 2017. Change is coming - both from companies and from consumers.

Here are a few things the remainder of the year could have in store.

Are you sick of all the messaging and scheduling you do on your preferred dating app? Do you sometimes wish someone could just…do it for you?

Hinge thinks so, and currently the company is beta-testing a new app called Audrey, which automates the online dating process for you. If you find someone attractive on the app, Audrey will reach out, make an introduction, and if the feeling is mutual, will schedule a date for you to meet.

The app will cost about $99 per month, or that is the price point they are using for beta testing in New York, so it might change. According to Hinge’s website, the process for using Audrey goes as follows:

Snapchat’s success has influenced everyone from Instagram to Facebook, and now Bumble is getting in on the game. The dating app will soon launch BumbleVID, a feature that allows users to create stories with unlimited 10-second videos that automatically delete after 24 hours.

BumbleVID will be familiar to singles who already use Snapchat and Instagram. Users can record their videos from directly within the Bumble app, and personalize their clips by drawing on the videos. Eventually the company plans to introduce additional features, like filters and geotagging, that will also be recognizable to regular social media users.

After a video is posted to a profile, it can be viewed by anyone who comes across the profile while swiping. The videos will also appear on the connections and conversations page, providing easy access to the video stories of anyone you’re connected with or currently talking to.

Online dating industry giant Match is looking to distinguish itself from the more popular dating apps like Bumble or Tinder. In an effort do this and to attract new customers, Match unveiled “Missed Connections,” a location-based feature that allows users to see other members they have crossed paths with in real life.

For example, if you walked in your neighborhood park this morning or grabbed coffee at your favorite coffee shop, you can see who on Match did the same and reach out to them.

The new feature offers a more organic approach to dating. Match hopes it will help people connect more easily in real life instead of relying on messaging, which has become an issue with many dating app users. In Match’s upcoming “Singles in America” survey (which will debut in early February), 55% of singles say they feel that technology has made it more difficult to connect with others in real life.