It's time for popular dating apps to start thinking about changes

When the Tinder app was introduced to the public in 2012, it was a real breakthrough. The developers managed to successfully introduce elements of gamification and made the process of finding a soul mate truly exciting. After all, what could be better than just swiping photos of other users left and right, and then getting like matches, and being able to chat with an interesting person?

The peak of Tinder's popularity occurred in two periods; from 2012 to 2014, when the application was noticed by the world, and from 2019 to 2020, when the coronavirus epidemic swept across the world and millions of people found themselves alone in four walls.

However, if we look at the overall trend in Tinder's popularity, we can see that between 2013 and 2023, the app's ratings on the App Store and Google Play sank by over 42%. The situation is similar to almost all popular dating services. Contemporaries seem to be simply tired of this format. However, it can be fixed if the developers approach this question in a balanced way.

Where do users go from dating apps?

If you think that the decline in the popularity of dating services is due to a decrease in the number of single people in the world, then this is completely wrong. In fact, there are even more singles in existence as we speak. It's just that not all of them, for one reason or another, use traditional dating sites and apps. Many people have chosen an alternative for themselves — online camchat.

Webcam chat is a site or application that connects random users via video link and allows you to chat on almost any topic. Hence, the interlocutors immediately see and hear each other, and their dialogue is just like the real one. This type of random video date can give you the most unexpected emotions and impressions ever.

Let's take a look at a few popular cam-to-cam chats:

CooMeet is a random cam chat that provides you with an error-free gender filter. Moreover, cam chat CooMeet has a free trial period. You can evaluate all the advantages of this site and decide on further use. By the way, webcam chat also has a built-in message translator with which you can communicate with interlocutors from all over the world, even without knowing the language.

Tinychat is not exactly a live cam chat, but rather a video streaming platform. A great option for those who love the video stream format. Moreover, it is meant for those who like to watch and broadcast. Although Tinychat is not the best for face-to-face communication, it is still a very popular communication service.

Fruzo is a pretty simple camchat that has a gender filter. You can add users to your friends' list, subscribe to updates from people you are interested in, upload photos to your profile, view photos of other users, and much more. Fruzo is a good combination of cam-to-cam chat and a classic dating site.

Faceflow is a cam-to-cam chat that allows you to meet new people and chat with friends, family, and colleagues. There is support for both one-on-one chats and group video chats. It is very convenient if you need to hold a video conference or discuss any important topic with your friends.

Chatspin is a random live cam chat with a gender filter. You can choose the options "Man" "Woman", "Couple" or "LGBTQ+". Users who care about anonymity and privacy can use AR masks. This is a rather rare but very popular feature.

Each webcam chat, regardless of your choice, provides much more interactivity. You can get to know the interlocutor better and faster without spending a lot of time on endless texting. In a couple of minutes, you will understand what kind of person you have in front of you and whether you are ready to develop a relationship with such an individual. In a dating app, it would take a lot longer!

Are we going to see massive changes in Tinder and its analogues anytime soon?

Currently, an important task for Tinder and other dating apps is to attract a new audience and retain existing users. This is quite problematic in conditions of active competition.

The difficulty is that dating services need to focus primarily on attracting zoomers. This is a young and active generation that is constantly in search of something new and quickly gets tired of the monotony. According to statistics, the user’s interest in dating apps decreases 2-3 days after registration; after 15 days, only 20% of active users remain. For example, if 100 people register on Tinder today, in two weeks there will be only 20 of those who are still using the service. Obviously, this number is small!

Certainly, the owners of dating sites and apps understand that you need to actively work with the audience and involve it. That is why they offer various innovations and involving tools now and then:

Built-in video chats — analogues of CooMeet, Chatspin, and other cam chats listed above.

More flexible search settings for potential partners.

Additional gender identities to attract a queer audience and more.

Tinder even tried to emphasize the development of its own Tinderverce metaverse after Mark Zuckerberg announced the development of Meta. However, Tinder eventually abandoned this idea, realizing that it could be extremely unprofitable. Especially against the background that the audience is already actively leaving the platform and incomes are declining.

High cost is one of the key reasons users leave

Firstly, here is an interesting observation: Tinder and Bumble hide the statistics of the total number of users, including the number of paid and free account holders. However, other sites are more open and share some information:

Users of all sites owned by Match Group spend an average of $15.86 per month.

Dating service Bumble has about 1.9 million paying users who spend under $30 a month.

Frankly speaking, this is a lot. However, the presence of a premium account and access to all functions does not guarantee that you will definitely meet the person with whom you want to connect your fate.

Interesting fact! According to surveys by research agency YouthSight, more than 90 members of the younger generation say they are disillusioned with dating apps. 40% of respondents say that they are happy being alone and, in principle, they do not seek to find a soul mate.

The owners of dating services face a difficult task — to engage a young audience and keep their attention for as long as possible. To do this, you need to take at least a few steps. Firstly, it is essential to reconsider the models of monetization. Secondly, to improve pair selection algorithms. After all, only Hinge with its original algorithm stands out against the general background of dating applications. The rest are using the same solution. Thirdly, dating services should offer something really new to their users. People are tired of swiping photos left and right for over ten years. They need a new user experience. Whoever proposes it first will take the lion's share of the audience!

Let’s summarize

Right now we are witnessing a rapid decline in user interest in dating sites. It is noticeable against the background of the previous rapid growth during the Covid-19 pandemic.

If classic dating sites and apps really want to stay afloat and successfully compete with random video chats, they have a lot of work and transformation to do, otherwise, they may simply fall into oblivion and remain a local phenomenon, not of interest to a wide audience.

We believe that in the coming years, we will see many changes in the online dating industry. At the same time, competition will certainly grow, and in the future, it may lead to a decrease in the cost of premium access to dating apps. Nonetheless, it is too early to discuss pricing.

Be that as it may, we recommend that you stay tuned and regularly study the news on the topic of web dating. We are certain that in the coming years or months, a lot of interesting and unexpected things await us. We will keep you updated as usual!