Ah Valentine’s Day, the globally celebrated day smug couples display their love on Instagram while the rest of us overuse the vomit emoji in our WhatsApp groups chats.
But who really loves Valentine's Day? Dating apps. According to research by App Annie, the global consumer spend on dating apps increased 190 per cent between 2016 and 2018, which is pretty impressive given most of them are free to download.
If you’re looking for love, or a date, on a dating app, is February 14 a good day to hit download and swipe?
We asked some of the biggest dating apps in the world how online activity changes in the run up to the big day.
Badoo
Badoo is one of the biggest dating apps in the world, with over 400 million users worldwide. Given all that choice, you’d expect it to be a good place to find a date for February 14.
If Badoo is your preferred app, you need to start looking in early February. The company says that in the two weeks running up to Valentine’s Day, it sees on average an 18 per cent increase in downloads, with an increase in 22 per cent of matches for women and 25 per cent for men.
However, Badoo often sees user activity fall around Valentine’s Day until the beginning of March. This could be because users are going offline and dating in real life.
If you were betting on Badoo for a date this Valentine’s Day, you may have left it a bit late.
Hinge
Unlike apps like Tinder which match you with people in the nearby area, Hinge matches its users with friends of friends, so you’re likely to meet someone you already have a connection to.
According to the app’s data, it saw a 10 per cent increase in downloads up to February 13, as people flock to the app head of Valentine’s Day.
Hinge has also looked into how best to attract the attention of a potential partner. It’s all in the black and white photos. Only 3 per cent of profile pictures on the platform are in black and white but they are 106 per cent more likely to receive a like.
Just make sure it’s not a selfie. Selfies are 40 per cent less likely to receive a like on Hinge, and bathroom selfies are 90 per cent less likely to receive a like.
Tinder
Tinder almost needs no introduction aside from the fact it is the most popular dating app in the world in terms of global consumer spend according to App Annie.
Tinder seems to be the one app to stay on over Valentine’s Day if you’re looking for a date - last year downloads increased 10 per cent globally on February 14 compared to the week before, with a 26 per cent increased alone in the UK.
It also pays to keep swiping the day after. February 15 is often known as Single’s Awareness Day and last year, there was a 14 per cent increase in downloads in the UK. There was also a six per cent increase in matches and a five per cent increase in conversations, as Tinder users were eager to start chatting.
What does your dating app of choice say about you?
In your quest for love, you might want to think about the app you’re downloading and what it says about you. Marketing tech company 4C Insights matched the most popular dating apps with the brands they are most likely to engage with.
Bumble users are more likely to engage with Netflix, on Hinge it's the high street brand New Look, Badoo users are into Red Bull and for Tinder, it’s the women’s magazine Cosmopolitan.
That should give you an insight into how to strike up a conversation with a match on your preferred app.
Happy swiping.
