If you happen to had been energetic in on-line relationship 10 years in the past or knew somebody who was, chances are you’ll recall a distinct world. Whereas a decade could seem to be a lifetime in digital years, it’s exceptional how a lot has modified. Some modifications had been straightforward to foretell; by the mid-2010s, modern relationship apps had already change into mobile-friendly and gamified with a “swipe left/proper” framework. Trendy variations of apps from then and new ones which have since launched have gone even additional down the cellular, gamified path. Everybody within the on-line relationship market now has a smartphone, so why wouldn’t they? Nonetheless, probably the most profound modifications in on-line relationship have been cultural quite than technological.
DOWN Courting App, an under-the-radar platform that was extra in style than Tinder when it launched in 2013, has arguably pushed extra cultural modifications than some other platform. As we speak, DOWN is making a enjoyable, versatile, protected, and sex-positive surroundings for over 10 million customers worldwide. Right here’s why it’s probably the most crucial relationship app you’ve by no means heard of and why it’s poised for even better relevance because it enters its second decade.
Launched in January 2013 as Bang With Buddies (BWF), the app’s early advertising and marketing campaigns tracked with that provocative model. In only a few months of its launch, BWF surpassed a million customers and had prime options on The Colbert Report and in blue-chip digital publications akin to BuzzFeed, Gawker, and The Day by day Beast. The next month, it launched within the App Retailer and instantly ranked larger than Tinder, then (and arguably nonetheless now) the “reference” relationship app.
Founder Colin Hodge emerged from anonymity, and their app’s reputation led to a $1 million capital increase led by Tim Draper and Nice Oaks Ventures, and so they rebranded as the marginally much less salacious “DOWN.” Hodge’s app did loads of issues in another way in these heady early days, however the greatest innovation was being open and sincere about its objective. Earlier than BWF, relationship apps largely danced across the “uncomfortable” incontrovertible fact that they existed to dealer romantic—and typically purely sexual—relationships.
DOWN’s transition to a full-fledged cellular relationship app introduced a flurry of recent options. The app was acquainted to customers who’d tried Tinder, Grindr, Loads of Fish, and different cellular relationship/hookup apps. However DOWN was (and is) very a lot its personal. Plus, its uniqueness helped it scale shortly to over 5 million customers by 2016. DOWN added location-based matching early on, permitting customers to search out potential companions—usually on the similar get together. It improved upon the “swipe left/proper” binary popularized by Tinder and Grindr with a three-directional structure:
– Swipe LEFT in case you’re not
– Swipe UP in case you’re fascinated by one thing extra severe (DATE)
– Swipe DOWN in case you’re fascinated by one thing extra informal (HOOKUP)
With two buckets for potential matches, DOWN presents a extra custom-made expertise and offers customers management over what they need. DOWN’s easy but progressive strategy to non-public matching has pushed different apps down this path. For instance, as soon as upon a time, Tinder’s status was unique to hookup apps. Although it’s nonetheless facilitating hookups, it’s now a bit extra welcoming for customers searching for deeper connections. Staying One (Or Three) Steps Forward.
DOWN Courting App’s current improvements have contributed to a powerful resurgence that’s far more than a byproduct of the post-COVID bounceback in on-line relationship. Since This fall 2019, the share of customers who’ve discovered matches on DOWN has grown by a whopping 500%—which means 5 instances as many individuals matching—whereas income has grown by some 250%. Downloads have greater than doubled throughout that interval. This means a mixture of longtime customers getting again within the combine and new customers coming into the fold.
DOWN nonetheless operates in a crowded market dominated by main gamers like Tinder, Bumble, and Hinge. However its distinctive, sex-positive options and easy-to-use interface have helped it develop its area of interest. As of late 2021, DOWN was extra in style than eHarmony and Her, sitting simply behind heavyweights like Match, OkCupid, and Grindr. The long run appears to be like shiny for DOWN, which is good news for the way forward for on-line relationship.
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Originally posted 2023-04-17 00:33:31.