The future of dating apps doesn’t look very user centric

Much like a hiker who’s safely made it down the other side of a 14-er, dating apps like Tinder, Bumble, etc., may be past their peak. User growth is slowing, and the pool of available younger users is starting to slow down.

• Roughly 30% of America’s addressable single population uses any type of dating site or app, the same number as in 2020.
• Analysts expect the annual growth in Internet-connected single people ages 18 to 65 to slow to about 1% over the next eight years, from 4% between 2011 to 2019.

However, dating apps are still forecasting future revenue growth. And, since the pool of potential users is projected to largely remain unchanged or even decrease, this growth can really only come from one place – increasing the average revenue per user (by raising prices, adding add’l paid features, etc.). According to a recent Morgan Stanley research report, the average paying user currently spends between $18 and $19 per month on either subscriptions or a la carte purchases.

🤔 A sneak-peek of the future?... Many, already frustrated with the dating app experience before the increased emphasis on monetization, are looking elsewhere for romance. There’s been a rise in “date-me docs” created on Google Docs, for example, which can basically be described as a dating resume containing all sorts of info about the person.

There’s also a growing crowd that places an emphasis on meeting people elsewhere. Like on Instagram, TikTok, or – brace yourself – in real life😱.