That said, Cook says he felt a responsibility to warn users of the app to practice social distancing. But I think until everything shut down, people weren’t observing social distancing.” People don’t necessarily realize how long these protocols will be in place.
“By the following week, it was less than 50%. “What was more interesting to us was that, on the day after the World Health Organization declared a worldwide pandemic, 70% of users said they thought they’d go on a date in the next 30 days,” he notes. “My guess is that as many more apps begin introducing video features, users of all apps - not just GROWLr - will begin using video more in their dating life, and maybe using it to prequalify potential dates,” Cook says, saying that users of dating apps seem to be “cultivating prospects” with the idea that they will meet at a later time when the pandemic has died down.Ĭook adds that while there are no surveys of GROWLr members specifically, surveys of its MeetMe app users found that 82% of people said they were socially distancing themselves at the current time. “Live Video will provide some stickiness and support, and the ability to find other people and interact with them, without having to meet them in real life.”Ĭook says that the trend he’s seeing, with users on all the company’s apps, not just GROWLr, is that people have been having fewer chats, but those who were chatting are chatting for longer periods of time. “It’s less about a tool for meeting and more about a chat app,” Cook says.
GROWLr already has a 1-on-1 video feature for paid subscribers, but Cook says that the feature will be made free for the app’s next “build,” which will be released in April. Randy Rainbow On His Life, Amazing Career, And Grandmother Users can choose to play the “Next Date” game in regular or “blind date” mode - the latter of which obscures a person’s face when chatting, with the picture gradually becoming clearer as the match continues video chatting. If a broadcaster agrees to date someone, their profile will open up a 1-on-1 video chat. Viewers will be prompted with questions, and, based on their responses, the broadcaster can decide whether to “next” them - moving on to the next profile - or date them. Users will also be able to play in “Next Date” mode while broadcasting, a feature that converts a live-stream into a mini-dating game. See also: Gay dating apps considering system to alert sexual partners to get tested for STDs The new features include GROWLr Live, a live-streaming platform, to be offered free of charge, that allows any user to start their own video stream, and find other users who are actively streaming, categorized by “What’s Hot,” or broadcasts drawing the largest number of viewers, as well as by who’s nearby and any new app users. “It was evident from our other apps, that video usage was increasing about 33% on average, some as much as 40%, and that this feature was needed,” explains Cook. The Meet Group - which also owns dating apps Meet Me, LOVOO, Skout, and Tagged - says it has seen a 33% increase in time spent in video and a 38% increase in video chats on its other apps with that capability since the World Health Organization officially declared the COVID-19 virus a pandemic.