The Future of Online Video Dating: Best Video Dating Apps

Dating these days take place both online and offline, with thousands of people worldwide joining this endeavor in search for a lifetime partner.

As if dating wasn't challenging enough before the pandemic, it introduced a whole new set of difficulties for singles. Bars and restaurants had to operate at limited capacity as physical contact (particularly with strangers) was deemed risky due to risks of transferring and contracting the deadly virus. Strict lockdowns and quarantines were imposed globally, with some localities imposing fines for leaving home.

Despite the strict social distancing and lockdowns in their respective areas, single people were remarkably receptive to meeting new companions. Thank the universe for the internet!

Dating.com revealed that global online dating increased by 82%.

It is also worth noting that when face-to-face encounters are not possible, video calls quickly became the go-to option.

Video dating might seem like something super futuristic, but it is becoming more and more popular. It woudln’t be surprising if it soon becomes the most prominent way for people to meet fellow singles and find love. Several dating apps with a large user base have even started offering video date features.

While video dating is beneficial for many, particularly if you want to avoid awkward moments on the first date, it is a highly convenient option to help you stay connected to the outside world.

In this article, we've prepared a list of the best video dating apps to help you stay secure when dating.

Behind the Curtains: Dating Then and Now

Before, Jeff Ullman brought various individuals in and out of a room filled with chairs, a camera crew, and a few videotapes. Ullman escorted each group member in and out of the room, where the latter was interviewed about their personality and what they desired in a life partner.

The experiment soon gave birth to Great Expectations. It emphasized the profundity of each person's personality and how it contributes to their appeal. Great Expectations also laid the groundwork for the modern dating experience. Presently, each popular video dating app has incorporated the framework of Great Expectations, as demonstrated by the enhanced process of exploring for a potential spouse. With a touch of your finger, you can date folks from across countries.

As with user preferences, internet dating has evolved into various methods, with video call dating being the most recent and dominant.

What makes it a popular and well-liked means for meeting possible mates?

Why Now: Dating through the Screen

Chat and voice calls are popular ways to meet new individuals for companionship or romantic relationships. However, the pandemic led to a significant shift towards a new dating format.

Pre-Covid, people would text each other and meet at a certain area then to spend time together or chat after work. Fast-forward to the ongoing global health crises, many were left feeling isolated that there had to be a way for people to see and speak with someone regularly despite their physical distance.

As a result, video-based communication gradually displaced long-distance phone calls and in-person meetings.

• Social Presence - Human beings, as Aristotle stated, are sociable. Multiple lockdowns and strict social distance rules made socializing akin to a brand new skill that people had to re-learn. As a result of the occurrence, mental health has deteriorated, and a rapid increase in the number of persons suffering from sadness and anxiety has occurred. By allowing people from distant locations to communicate face to face, video dating helps in reducing these instances. The platform created a stronger presence for each users that phone calls and chat could not.

• Confidence Boost - Virtual meetings have become the new norm. Individuals see the other party on the screen and converse as if they were conversing in person. It served as an effective confidence boost. The more comfortable people felt in front of the camera, the more they became at ease whenever they conversed with a new potential partner on video.
• Worthwhile Diversion - Another large-scale effect of the pandemic is how the majority of the populace was left unemployed or enrolled in an asynchronous educational system. This increased their free time, and they were given more time and space to think about unhealthy things. As video calls became more prevalent and enabled folks to communicate with another human being, their thoughts, and emotional strains gradually eased. Their focus turned away from their personal issues and the worsening crisis, then quickly shifted to developing new connections.

• Swiping Fatigue - The best online video dating apps have made the extensive use of the swiping feature to assist users in choosing from a pool of potential partners. People became wary of this especially since it also decreased the likelihood of any genuine relationship being built. Selecting a person to connect with became shallow and based solely on appearance. While the swiping feature is not wholly incorrect, users gradually become accustomed to it. Eventually, people found a way to delve further into the personality of users who caught their interest.

• Better Time Management - The pandemic altered people's perceptions of time, and many began to yearn for stability. Thus, the best video dating sites help in this effort by giving high-quality calls that bring a person's personality to life across the screen. Anyone may fake reactions with emojis in chat and risk being catfished, increasing the likelihood of wasting time. It safeguards romantic prospects against harm during the procedure. A video call establishes the user's legitimacy, minimizing time spent on someone who is not seeking a meaningful commitment.
• It Is Our New Reality - Nobody knows how long it will take until the ongoing health crisis ends and the virus becomes a part of history. Until then, people have accepted and chosen to adjust to the new normal. Countless individuals have taken a chance on love, developing deeper connections with others, and surviving the pandemic through romantic and platonic relationships.

These are the primary reasons why video dating has resurfaced as a new trend in the dating world.

Is Video a New Chat?

With countries lifting lockdown restrictions left and right, dating experts believe that people will swiftly return to forming romantic relationships offline rather than depending exclusively on video dating.

Conversely, there is also the widespread agreement that video dating will not disappear entirely, with many predicting that video conversations will be used as part of the screening process before pushing through with a first, real-life date in the 'new normal.'

Individuals will be a lot more selective and careful when you consider a pre-arranged, virtual meeting. After all, meeting up with someone in person still involves a certain risk. It's far more convenient to have a Zoom conversation with someone to see whether you truly like them than it is to squander two hours of your time in a bar, only to be catfished or disappointed.

Dating opportunities come and go, but the ability to meet true love via a single video conversation is revolutionary.

As such, the best online video dating sites are fully aware of the following advantages of video dating:

Future Trends: Increased Diversity in Online Dating

In the future, dating apps will become more diverse in color, gender, and sexual orientation.

Dating apps in the past only catered to males and females. Fortunately, the doors have opened to a broader spectrum of dating preferences. While dating apps are evolving and becoming more user-friendly for the LGBTQ+ community, On the other hand, some obstacles are inevitable, as a natural part of venturing into a more progressive setup.

For instance, one of the primary difficulties confronting the LGBTQ+ community is the stigma and conservatism associated with its members in contemporary society. As a result, these dating apps' primary obligation should be to safeguard the safety of their users in terms of privacy and profile management.

Similarly, some dating apps have begun attempting to improve LGBTQ+ users' safety and privacy. For instance, Tinder is developing a tool that will automatically block LGBTQ+ users from servers in locations where LGBTQ communities are prohibited. This precaution is meant to safeguard users against local regulations and harassment.

More inclusive dating apps are being developed and gaining popularity in the app market. HER is a dating app that supports over 17 sexual orientations and 18 gender identities which include non-binary, agender, and two-spirits.

Future Dating Apps Will Feature Massive Privacy Walls

One of the primary concerns that users of dating apps have is the threat to their privacy. It has been a prevailing concern ever since. Numerous instances have occurred when fraudulent profiles have been used to spam or blackmail users in dating apps. Most dating apps provide a verification mechanism to stave off such threats. To have a verified profile, you must submit multiple photographs of yourself where your face is clearly visible. This is done to confirm the authenticity of existing profiles on dating apps.

For example:

1. Algorithms are used by dating apps to identify famous images. Thus, dating apps will remove it unless a celebrity creates and verifies their own profile.
2. Dating apps regularly purge bogus accounts to make room for authentic profiles for you to like.
3. Each dating app includes a reporting tool that allows users to tell developers about any undesirable behavior, fraud, or harassment.

Higher Chances of Finding ‘The One’

Video calling is an excellent way to meet new people. Through video chats, users can quickly get to know one another. There is no communication method more effective for verifying oher user accounts than video call or chat. Additionally, video dating enables you to filter who you want to date and maintain contact with once the conversation or pandemic ends.

5 Of The Best Apps For Video Dating

Dating apps have altered the limits of traditional dating.  Finding short and long-term partnerships have never been easier, thanks to exceptional features that provide users with fast and limitless access to various profiles. Indeed, even interactions that cross the line between commitment and casual desires appeared to have a greater possibility of veering towards a more mutual conclusion thanks to video dating.

As we approach the new normal, dating app developers embrace advances that expand online dating possibilities. Because smartphones have taken over end users' lives today, Some dating apps have taken note of smartphones’ increasing versatility in people’s everyday lives. It prompted them to include video functions in their software.

These modifications will provide online daters with a more immersive swiping and clicking experience. Additionally, it will give you a better perspective of another person's personality. In this light, here are the best android apps for online dating you can check out if you've grown tired of scrolling through photographs of attractive and potential partners.

1. Hinge

Do you find yourself lazily swiping back and forth between photos of people you know very little about? Try Hinge. It's simple to use, and several romance prospects await. Although Hinge is a well-known dating app, they didn’t consider including video features until 2017.

This is because people find scrolling between photos tedious and possibly misleading. Some users even end up on disastrous dates due to the inability to see a user's image. They are not given the chance to verify the person’s identity behind the profile leading to unpleasant surprises and disappointments once they meet in person. Video communication added a more immersive level of scrutiny.

2. Tinder

Tinder is another dating app that has adopted live video capabilities into their system. It achieved popularity for the first time in 2013. Since then, Tinder has maintained a stronghold on a sizable portion of the online dating business.

With the addition of in-app video calls that enable "matches" to communicate (without exposing any personal information), Tinder has evolved into a more impressive dating platform for end-users worldwide. Tinder also launched the Safety Center to augment user security. It operates by having users push the panic button on the app's user interface whenever they feel wary of their date. The popular daing app undoubtedly demonstrated a brave and unrestrained desire to experiment with its existing features.

3. Lively

Lively, which is owned by popular dating app creator Zoosk, is an experimental video chat dating app that mixes augmented live video chat capabilities with quiz games to connect people.

According to the developers, initiating a conversation with a stranger is difficult to carry out and somewhat embarrassing is they factor in previous experiences where the user was rejected at attempt to break the ice.

The developers believe that creating a conversation with a stranger is rather difficult to pull off and somewhat awkward from different angles. So, they decided to incorporate trivia games for matched users to make conversation easier and more relevant.

The app allows up to four users to participate in the trivia game. The participants must answer twelve trivia questions. Lively’s objective is to pair people regardless of their preferences, standpoints, and beliefs by allowing them to interact with each other in real-time.

If you find video dating is not enough for you or if you want to show off your inner trivia genius, then Lively might work best for you.

4. Bumble

Bumble is considered one of the best live video dating apps that helps people discover dates or acquaintances in their neighborhood. It comes with a catch: The queen bees (or female users) are the ones with the capacity to initiate contact with another person through the app. In exchange, male users must act immediately or risk losing the opportunity to start a relationship after 24 hours of inaction or no response.

Users are granted a 24-hour extension at maximum. After that, there will be no more do-overs.

Bumble added their video chat features two years ago, and it worked like magic!

It has helped users quench their mingling desires during the quarantine blues. The update came with a trivia game to give users something to do or talk about during their first-time video chat session.

Compared to other online dating apps, Bumble mostly leaves the heavy lifting to female users. So, if you’re the shy type of guy who struggles to make the first move, then Bumble may come in handy.

Note: Bumble is not limited to straight users, it allows same-sex connection as well! 

Note: Bumble is not only for straight people. It also supports same-sex relationships!

5. Match

Match is another fantastic online video dating app that has been recently optimized for smartphones. It has a story feature that allows users to post a video of them showing off their personality, making Match a contender in this growing industry.

Although its format bears a resemblance to that of Lively’s, what sets it apart is the fact that users can post videos that are 60 seconds long. They can also narrate the content they posted. It is akin to a video version of your journal. Cool, right?

The app took the typical photo swiping norm to the next level. Indeed, hearing someone’s voice is an important factor in attracting someone compared to looking at a still photo.

If you want a subtle yet effective video dating app, Match is—pardon the pun—a good Match for you!

What are the Risks of Online Dating?

Online dating is by far the best avenue for meeting new people in this shelter-in-place era. At the same time, its popularity entails major drawbacks in the form of security risks and challenges. The current generation may be tech-savvies, but they are not automatically tech-safe! As such, it is important to know the risks of online video dating. Here are three of the most popular security challenges that online daters may encounter.

1. Romance Scam

Scammers are still rampant across various online dating platforms.

Identity theft is one of the most prevailing and dangerous form of scams. The practice takes place when a scammer uses someone else’s identity to commit crimes. They prey on their victims’ accounts and drain them dry for their own advantage.

How can they charge you with identity theft when you see the person on the other end of an ongoing video conversaion? They screenshot or capture your face while you are on a video chat or call with them. Then, they will edit the screenshot to use your stolen photo in exacting their deceptive schemes.

Phishing is another type of romance scam. Scammers deceive their victims into disclosing their personal details and sensitive information. They typically target a person’s bank account information, social security numbers, credit card numbers, and passwords.

Most of the time, these scammers don’t work alone. They work for a syndicate or a massive criminal organization. Instead of using a fake profile, they have the capacity to use a real person to interact with you, make you fall in love with them, then lure you into a fast-developing relationship. Once they completely gain your trust, that’s when they drain your wallet dry. Before you can even react, voila! You’ve already been duped.

2. Discrimination

Online dating apps cater to people with varying sexual preferences. Some people prefer partners outside their race, while some are part of the LGBTQ+ community. These preferences alone breed different forms of discrimination among users.

Most of the time, members of the LGBTQ+ community and interracial couples face online discrimination. It occurs even in the context of internet dating. Closed-minded individuals make online dating platforms a daily hell for them. They spare no discriminatory insults and hurtful remarks even when unprovoked. Despite using words as their weapon, dating app users who exhibit prejudice, racism, and discrimination disrupt the entire experience for other individuals using the app.

3. Harassment

Dating app customers who are young adults (or those who are in their twenties are more susceptible to online harassment than those in their early thirties or late forties. Online dating applications served as a gateway for younger users to develop meaningful relationships online.

While they may be adept at navigating the digital environment, they lack the fortitude to deal with the onslaught of harassment in the online community.

The dramatic surge in dating platform customers make it more vital than ever for the younger online dating demographic to understand the dangers of online abuse.

They should know that not all users in this ostensibly romantic arena are respectable. Some users are downright repulsive and rude, perpetrating unwelcome advances, sexually explicit audiovisual content, and other forms of annoyance across several online dating applications.

Those who own dating sites or produce apps geared toward developing casual to serious relationships must act promptly to prevent these dangerous and irresponsible users from wreaking havoc. If you are running a dating app site, you are responsible for protecting your members, safeguarding their trust, and maintaining your credibility.

An effective solution to curb harassment, romance scams, and discrimination on your dating platform is content moderation.

Moderation is not a novel concept. Most dating apps miss the critical aspect of having a reliable moderation system in place.

Employing content moderation enables a seamless increase in the capacity of dating apps, platforms to regulate user activity and uphold online safety at all times.Customers receive stronger protection from inappropriate content and suspicious individuals. Verifying the legitimacy of profiles, detecting fraudulent schemes, and scan UGCs using smart and intelligent tools in attempt to bypass the app’s established profanity filters. Ultimately, this increases your online credibility and attracts new members.

Conclusion

Video dating apps are not showing signs of slowing down. It is reshaping the very structure of online dating as we know it. Have you noticed how one new app simultaneously emerges after another?

The dynamic user demands make determining the best dating live video apps quite unpredictable each year. With flexible features that can accommodate people with different romantic preferences, online video dating sites is setting the bar high.

Take fast-acting countermeasures. Put an end to these frauds by enforcing content moderation. If you don't have the slightest idea of what online dating moderation is, Chekkee might be of great help.

Chekkee is an Australian-based company specializing in providing effective content moderation services. Our online dating moderation service is tailored to help you capture the interest of genuine users and improve user satisfaction. Backed with the latest tools and dedicated human moderators, we ensure that your online dating is free from scammers and inappropriate content.

If you need a helping hand to ensure the safety of your online daters, contact us today!

Merlene Leano

Director of Marketing