As more and more dating apps continue to launch, developers are starting to think of ways to make theirs unique.
With the hope of eliminating ‘catfishing’ and other awkward dating app issues – like arriving at your date only to discover your date looks nothing like their profile photo – Vancouver developer Ian Bell created Tingle, which integrates secure, anonymous, live audio and video chats between matches so users can see and hear each other in real-time.
The app is currently available in Canada, the U.S., and the U.K., and has hundreds of thousands of users to date.
If the match doesn’t work or the people don’t like what they see, both users can disengage from the interaction and remove each other from their inbox. Or block them to end all communication.
Anyone who’s ever used other dating apps like Tinder or Bumble know that users don’t hold back when it comes to messaging. Inappropriate messages and photos are regularly sent without the recipient’s consent, so you can only imagine what kind of surprises you might wake up to if you used Tingle.
Photo: Tingle
Not to mention engaging with a complete stranger over a video chat can be extremely awkward. First off, you’re never able to carry on a natural conversation; you’re always waiting for the other person to stop talking so you can offer up your response. Or when you both speak at once and realize it, you both uncomfortably spit out apologies.
Then, once you get the ball rolling, you start to feel like you’re in a job interview and are forced to ask weird personal questions just to make the time pass while trying to not make eye contact when you both know you’re only talking to each other with the hope to hook up later.
When it comes down to it, dating apps are fun when you’re only allowed to communicate through messages or by sending photos. Adding videos into the communication mix just opens a bag of awkwardness that no one needs to be a part of.
And besides, if you’re really worried the person you’re talking to might be catfishing you or they’re giving off any questionable vibes, just end the conversation and keep swiping away until you meet your next match.
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