In the times when user-generated content shapes the digital landscape and arguably our entire existence, we at the budding dating app RAW had to realize it’s crucial for us (and any app builders) to stay attuned to the consumer voice and the actual desires it transmits.

In the oversaturated dating app market of the past decade, finding an app that aims to cater to your specific preferences, identity, or goals has not been an issue.. It’s safe to say there is now a dating app for everybody in question covering what amounts to 10% of internet-connected adult human population. The popular gripe with these (expectedly, corporate-goals-driven) apps is their perceived inability to produce satisfying results for their users. We can imagine that for the majority of players below the top 2, from Bumble to Hinge to Raya to Feeld, to figure out how to fill out the blank space in “Tinder but for …”became the foremost task on the way to developing a following. It could be argued that concocting a novelty has become a stand-in for producing meaningful results for users, as around half of all users report an overall negative experience on dating apps.

Speaking of “users report”, in the times when user-generated content shapes the digital landscape and arguably our entire existence, we at the budding dating app RAW had to realize it’s crucial for us (and any app builders) to stay attuned to the consumer voice and the actual desires it transmits. That TikTok and other social platforms are a treasure trove of user experiences, is a fact hardly revelatory but that we needed to make an emphasis on harnessing those to create an engaging app and break the cycle of user dissatisfaction seemed an important reckoning. In this guide, we posit our take on a checklist of steps to build an app driven primarily by insights from the people rather than gimmick baiting.

1. Market analysis and inspiration:

Before setting out on the actual development part of your journey, take the time to analyze the current landscape at the firsthand level. Dive into the said TikTok or Reddit to discover sentiments both popular and individual, feedback, reviews of competitors, and the pain points of users. This research will serve as the foundation for your app’s inspiration.

For example, there are countless reddit threads or Tiktok trends (not to mention The New Yorker essays) alleging negative dating app experiences such as scams, catfishing, ghosting. This major issue became a cornerstone in refining our mission for RAW: making an app about never having to pretend to be someone else.

2. Authenticity is key

What came to us as a niche-specific takeaway feels extrapolatable. Authenticity is undeniably the recurring theme in the success of TikTok and so many other digital products. Users value genuine interactions in any market, so remember to recognize the importance of authenticity in your app’s concept.

3. Blend the Best Features

Use competitors’ testing, research and insights. Identify standout features from existing apps that align with the trends you’ve discovered. Identify those that perform badly with usership. These features might come from various sources, so don’t limit yourself to a single app. Combining the strongest elements and avoiding the previously-corresponding weakest ones can create a unique user experience.

We found a powerful lesson in the success of the daily update feature, as witnessed in BeReal. It reaffirmed for us the collective desire for authenticity. So we introduced into RAW one of its focal features — a daily front-and-back camera shot requirement. These snapshots taken in real-time at varying times each day and free from any editing facilitate shifting the focus away from “solving for x” known as profile curation to what truly matters, connecting with people. Elsewhere, inspired by a viral TikTok video where a user expressed anxiety over the 24-hour window to make the first move on Bumble, we recognized the need to alleviate the pressure those timers might impose. While timers themselves weren’t the issue (and actually had steadily seemed a valuable addition to us), the abruptness and expectations tied to them were. To tackle this, we opted for a more accommodating 72-hour timer.

4. Base your killer feature on popular insights too

While it’s crucial to tap into the well of inspiration from other companies, it’s essential to create unique features that would address popular grievances and desires expressed by users. Building your killer feature on insights derived from user feedback can be a game-changer. A major grievance of the dating industry is ghosting. A survey found 82% of dating app users have been ghosted at least once, a number both shocking and unsurprising. To address this, RAW limits the number of active conversations, cutting abandoned ones, and the app encourages unmatching if the conversation dies out. While no one likes to see a conversation fizzle out, the app encourages users to focus on moving forward in search of working relationships, rather than hoarding ones that don’t work out.

5. Know your target audience:

Prioritizing tapping into preferences and pain points of your target users. Tailor your app to cater to their specific needs and desires. The fact we are using stories from TikTok and Reddit as inspiration for a dating app makes it clear that we’ve designed RAW with a particular age range in mind — under 30s who aren’t interested in the obnoxiousness that most dating apps today have.

By following this checklist, you can set the foundation for an innovative app that resonates with users and leverages the power of hearing the audience’s voice. Remember, the success of your app hinges on your ability to capture a response to what users seek in today’s digital landscape.