Typically, many of us in the 20-35 year old range have taken to the internet to make friends and lovers alike. Sure, maybe you’re just swiping right on your crush from high school, but that rekindling would most likely never happen without the social lubricant that is dating apps. eHarmony and OKCupid started this with in-depth profiles and area searches , sure, but we’re advancing past simple “this person is close enough to you to where you wouldn’t feel it a chore to meet them,” and blazing forward into worlds of facial recognition and machine learning to find us people to connect with.
Check out these four examples below that are using technology to best cater to our dating desires.
FlirtAR
Hopping on the augmented reality train is the dating app FlirtAR. Essentially how it works is that the app will track people through facial recognition to see if they have a profile and, if so, give you an idea on your compatibility and allow you to look at their FlirtAR profile. It’s a cool idea, but one that would need mass adoption rates to even begin to work at a level that isn’t lame.
While it will be difficult to justify staring down someone with your phone while it scans their face, the idea is very awesome in theory and could prove for some interesting applications later on.
Hily
This online social discovery platform is using machine learning to connect you with people the AI thinks would be a good fit, while also doing its best to ensure that the people you are engaging with are, in fact, real. Hily Sign up allows for some account verification methods to to prove you’re a real person and then you set up a basic profile with a shiny verified emblem.
The real magic happens, however, as you continue to use the app and the AI kicks in to figure out what you’re really about. It will look at the people you’re “swiping right,” the ones you’re matching with, and gauge the conversations to see how into the other person you are. Sure, you might say you have a thing for blonde men, but if the app notices you swiping right and talking more to those with brown hair, it will start tweaking its algorithm to display more relevant results.
Happn
Happn is probably what FlirtAR should have inspired to be, honestly. While with FlirtAR you’re having to discreetly film someone to find out if they use the app, Happn lets it happen naturally through the use of geolocation. It will show you profiles of the people you cross paths with and the frequency in which you do. It’s a pretty great concept, honestly, because we are creatures of habit and will often find ourselves making eye contact with others that frequent the same places.
Granted, we could always just go up and TALK to these people without the use of an app as an icebreaker, but that just sounds terrible.
FaceDate
FaceDate relies on a facial recognition algorithm to generate potential matches for its users.When setting up an account, users also upload photos of famous people they find attractive and the app will analyze facial structures and whatnot to figure out what kind of people you’re into (or maybe you just uploaded Facebook pictures of that cute girl at work, who knows). The app will then suggest people who look like your celebrity crush - because who needs to match on things like interests and career goals when I can find every Scarlett Johansson within 10 miles?
While there are some obvious issues with the idea of matching solely on looks, the idea behind the app is most certainly an interesting one, and I can see where the potential lies with it.
Considering how connections and sex drive so much innovation in the world of tech and convenience, it really shouldn’t surprise us that there are dating apps out here helping lead the charge. The above are but four examples, there are most certainly others out there, and I can guarantee you there will be more coming that utilize new and emerging technology.
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