In the event you had been energetic within the on-line relationship scene 10 years in the past or knew individuals who had been — you would possibly keep in mind a really completely different world. Certain, a decade would possibly as properly be a lifetime in digital years, but it surely’s nonetheless outstanding how a lot has modified.
A few of these adjustments had been straightforward to foretell on the time. By the mid-2010s, modern relationship apps had been already mobile-friendly and kind of gamified. The “swipe left/proper” framework was already a factor. Fashionable variations of apps that existed again then, and new apps which have come on-line since, are (as anticipated) a lot additional down the cell, gamified path. Mainly, everybody within the on-line relationship market has a smartphone now, so why wouldn’t they?
However probably the most profound shifts in on-line relationship have been cultural relatively than technological. And DOWN Relationship App, an under-the-radar platform that was truly extra widespread than Tinder when it launched in 2013, has arguably performed greater than every other to drive these adjustments.
DOWN remains to be pushing the envelope at this time, making a enjoyable, versatile, protected, and sex-positive atmosphere for greater than 10 million customers worldwide. Right here’s why it’s an important relationship app you’ve by no means heard of. Plus, why it’s poised for even larger relevance because it enters its second decade.
“Bang With Pals” Storms the Relationship Scene
Launched in January 2013 as Bang With Pals (BWF), the app’s early advertising campaigns tracked with that provocative model. Inside months of BWF’s launch, it had prime options on The Colbert Report and in blue-chip digital publications like BuzzFeed, Gawker, and The Day by day Beast.
BWF surpassed 1 million customers in April 2013, about three months after its launch. The next month, it launched within the App Retailer and instantly ranked increased than Tinder, then (and arguably nonetheless now) the “reference” relationship app. Founder Colin Hodge emerged from anonymity, parlayed their app’s reputation right into a $1 million capital elevate led by Tim Draper and Nice Oaks Ventures, and rebranded to the marginally much less salacious “DOWN.”
Breaking the Hush-Hush Relationship App Mould
Hodge’s app did numerous issues otherwise in these heady early days. However its greatest innovation was merely 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. Incumbents like eHarmony and Match.com (now simply “Match”) used awkward questionnaires and opaque algorithms to pair customers, typically with disappointing outcomes, all-the-while advertising their platforms to match customers with their “soulmates.” Early iterations of Tinder employed euphemisms like “discovering new pals.”
BWF disbursed with all that. Its first model was a easy, nameless “Fb relationship app” that permit customers select which pals they’d wish to hook up with. There was no fanfare, no beating across the bush, and no uncertainty about what a mutual match meant.
The money infusion and DOWN rebrand led to a slicker, extra feature-rich app that wasn’t so carefully tied to customers’ Fb networks. However the spirit remained the identical: to defeat the then-powerful stigma round digital hookups and present skeptics that no-strings relationship may very well be protected and enjoyable.
Up, Down, Left, Proper
DOWN’s transition to a full-fledged cell relationship app introduced a flurry of latest options.
The app was acquainted to customers who’d tried Tinder, Grindr, Loads of Fish, and different cell relationship/hookup apps. However DOWN was (and is) very a lot its personal. Plus, its uniqueness helped it scale rapidly to greater than 5 million customers by 2016.
DOWN added location-based matching early on. This allowed customers to seek out potential companions — typically on the similar occasion. It additionally improved upon the “swipe left/proper” binary popularized by Tinder and Grindr with a three-directional structure:
- Swipe LEFT when you’re not (proceed to the subsequent potential match)
- Swipe UP when you’re taken with one thing extra critical (DATE)
- Swipe DOWN when you’re taken with one thing extra informal (HOOKUP)
With two buckets for potential matches, DOWN affords a extra custom-made expertise and offers customers management over what they need. In the event you’re solely out there for hookups, that’s effective — simply swipe DOWN every time somebody catches your eye — when you’re solely out there to this point, it’s the identical deal. And if you’d like each, properly, you’ve the choice. In any case, the chance of awkward, even painful miscommunication once you match, is far decrease.
DOWN’s easy but modern method to private matching has pushed (or possibly pulled) different apps down this path. For instance, as soon as upon a time, Tinder’s fame was unique as a hookup app. Although it’s nonetheless facilitating hookups, it’s now a bit extra welcoming for customers looking for deeper connections. The other is true for no less than some legacy on-line relationship websites like OkCupid and Match — they’re not go-tos for informal flings, however they’re a bit much less awkward than earlier than. Now, a plethora of informal relationship apps are available on the market, with DOWN main the cost as a kind of “Tinder for hookups.”
Staying One (Or Three) Steps Forward
Within the years because the launch of its full cell app, DOWN has steadily added first-in-class options. These embody some for paired-up customers keen to boost current relationships:
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- 3Some: This one pairs customers open to (or actively looking for) threesome hookups or polyamorous relationships. It really works when you’re single and on the lookout for two new companions. Or when you’re already in a relationship and also you’d like so as to add a 3rd. Based on DOWN’s personal knowledge, 22% of single customers are on the lookout for two folks to affix a brand new “3some,” and about 5% wish to add yet another to an current pair.
- Snap Match: A high various to Tinder’s Passport characteristic, you faucet “Spin,” and DOWN immediately pairs you with a random one who suits your profile preferences. The catch: They may very well be anyplace on the planet. It’s a good way to discover long-distance flings which will or could not flip into one thing extra sturdy, or simply to move a couple of minutes chatting with somebody you wouldn’t have encountered in any other case.
- Highlights: These profile stickers aid you stand out from DOWN’s ten million-plus customers, and aid you discover simply the kind of particular person you need. Use them to specific your out-and-about persona, romantic preferences, bed room behaviors — no matter strikes your fancy.
- Icebreakers: These enjoyable, low-pressure video games are for these awkward early moments once you’re not fairly certain what to say. DOWN has two proper now: “Would You Relatively,” which you would possibly keep in mind from highschool, and “Picture Problem,” the place you share pictures based mostly on the app’s prompts.
Up Is the New DOWN
DOWN Relationship App’s current improvements have contributed to a formidable resurgence that’s way more than a byproduct of the post-COVID bounceback in on-line relationship.
Since This autumn 2019, the proportion 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 certainly operates in a crowded market that huge gamers like Tinder, Bumble, and Hinge more and more dominate. 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 widespread (as measured by new downloads) than eHarmony and Her. Moreover, it sat simply behind heavyweights like Match, OkCupid, and Grindr.
The longer term appears shiny for DOWN, which is excellent information for the way forward for on-line relationship.
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