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Thedatinggame
Whichdatingappsarewinningtheheartsoftheworld?
12February2016

Millionsofpeopleusedatingappstoovercomesocialbarriers,busyschedulesand
shynessintheirhuntfor"theone".
Manyhavefoundthemselvesempoweredbutotherstellofdespairand,inextremecases,
threatsofblackmail.
Mostdownloadeddatingappsin50countries,2015

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Badoo

18

Tinder
Others

11

WithdataprovidedexclusivelytotheBBCbyanalyticscompanyAppAnnie,itisalsopossible
totellthestoryoftheappsbehindthephenomenon.
Lookingat50oftheworld'sbiggestappmarkets,twonamesdominatedin2015:Badooand
Tinder.
Nearlyadecadeafteritlaunched,Badoohadthetopdatingappin21countries.
Tinderwasthemostdownloadeddatingappin18countriesandcameaclosesecondtoBadoo
inmanyothers.

Europe

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt2e3f004275f64bd1b4fe9056540c65f8

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Thereisfiercecompetitionbetweenthetwobiggestappshere.Tinderdominatesnorthern
countriesBadooistopintheeastandsouth.InGermanspeakingcountries,Lovoo
developedinthecityofDresdenisnumberone.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt2e3f004275f64bd1b4fe9056540c65f8

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Ifthere'snochemistry,there'snochemistry
Andy,45,London

Andy,45,fromScotland,livesinLondonandhasbeenmarriedanddivorcedtwice.Hehasa
21yearolddaughterfromhisfirstmarriage.He'sbeenusingTinderforseveralyears.
"Youcreatethisperfectprofile,usingyourbestphotographsandmostcreativelinesoftext,to
createthispersona,andyoustarttobelievethispersonathatyou'vecreated.Everyoneelseon
theappisdoingexactlythesamething.
"Youspendafewweekssendinglinesoftexttoeachother,andyoueventuallyarrangeto
meet.Atthemeeting,it'sinstantlyrecognisablethatneitherofyoucanliveuptothe
expectationsandyoupartcompany.
"Ifthere'snochemistry,there'snochemistry.Thefalloutisthetriphome,whereyoufeel
crushedanddefeatedandyouknowyou'regoingbacktosquareonetostartthewholeprocess
again.

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Andy's"rollercoasterride"
Duration:0:26

"Tocounterbalancethisyoutendtohavethreeorfouronthegoatthesametime.Thewhole
processisveryaddictive,butit'sverysouldestroying.Theaddictiveparttendstocomemainly
fromtheloneliness,whichisthewholereasonthatwe'reonthisandwe'retryingtofind
someonetokeepuscompany."

OutsideRussia,EgyptistheonlycountrywhereFrimispopular
Asia

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ThedominanceofTinderandBadoodoesnotextendtoEastAsia,whereeachcountryhasa
veryspecificpreference.InChina,Momoistryingtoescapeitsoriginsasadatingappand
becomeasocialnetwork.

Parentsdon'tthinkyou'llgetagoodpartner
Shruti,30,Delhi,India

Shruti,30,andNitin,31,liveinDelhiandworkinfinance.Theyfoundeachotheron
TrulyMadly,anIndianmadeapp,whichcamesecondtoTinderintermsofdownloadsin2015.
TheygotmarriedinNovember.
"Atfirstwedidn'tinformourparentsthatwemetthroughadatingapp,butoncetheyknew,they
accepteditbecausewearebothfromthesamereligionandcaste,"saysShruti.
"Parentsdon'tthinkyou'llgetagoodpartnerthroughdatingappsbecausepeoplearetherejust
tohavefakerelationshipsandwilljustspendsometimewithagirlorboythenleave."
"Witharrangedmarriages,youmeetthegirlandherfamily,andthenafteraweekorso,you
havetoreply,"saysNitin."Idon'tlikethatbecauseyoudon'thavefreedomorcontrol."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt2e3f004275f64bd1b4fe9056540c65f8

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Howourparentsreacted
Duration:0:33

"Theywilljustallowustomeetthatpersonfor15or20minutesinsomeprivateplace,butyou
cannotjudgeapersonbyjustmeetingthemwithin15or20minutes,"saysShruti.

InSouthKoreadatingappsrankverypoorlycomparedwithotherapps
MiddleEast

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt2e3f004275f64bd1b4fe9056540c65f8

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EgyptandSaudiArabiauseappsthathavelittlepopularitybeyondtheirborders.Apartfrom
Egypt,theonlyothercountrywhereFrimhasafootholdisRussia.Similarly,WhosHereis
specifictoSaudiArabiaandKuwait.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt2e3f004275f64bd1b4fe9056540c65f8

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Mostofthemwanttotaketherelationshiptothenextlevel
Aisha',42,Kuwait

Aisha,whosenamehasbeenchanged,is42andliveswithherparentsinKuwait.Shedoesnot
wanttorevealheridentitybecausedatingisnotacceptedinherculture.
"IuseBadoo.I'mtryingtofindsomefriendsaroundtheworld.I'mtryingtofindpeoplewithan
openmind,whoarekind,intelligent,smart.Peoplewhoreallytrytoknowanddiscoverothers.
"Atthefirstmeeting,IamalittlebitshyasanArabiangirlmeetingastrangeperson.Ihavea
lotoftraditions.Butatthesametime,IamofanagewhereIcanrecognisewhatisrightor
wrong.ItellthemfromthefirstdayIamonlyofferingfriendship.Mostofthemdon'taccept
theywanttotaketherelationshiptoasecondlevel.Butsomeofthemsaytheyneedthesame.
Ihavemademorethanfivefriendsthisway.Theyareveryveryuniquerelationships.
"Myfamilydon'tacceptthatkindofrelationshipbecausetheydon'tagreeaboutrelations
betweenmenandwomen.ButtheyknowmeverywellandtheyknowthatIwillnotdo
somethingbad.Atthesametime,Ihavetobecarefulaboutthetraditions,aboutmyreligion...
abouteverything."

WhosHereispopularintheMiddleEastbuthasn'tcaughton
elsewhere
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt2e3f004275f64bd1b4fe9056540c65f8

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SouthAmerica

Badoomaybeontophere,butineachcaseitonlyjustbeatTinder.InSouthAmericadating
appsareparticularlypopularcomparedwithotherapps.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt2e3f004275f64bd1b4fe9056540c65f8

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Youdon'thavetobeashamedofitanymore.
Deborah,22,SaoPaulo,Brazil

Deborahis22andlivesinSaoPaulo.Sheworksinfilmproduction,issingleandusesTinder
andHappn.
"Iusedtogotoclubs,butitseemseveryonegoesforasinglepurposegettingagirloraguy.I
don'treallylikethefeeling.Itfeelslikeyou'rehuntingorbeinghunted.InBrazil,someofthe
guysinclubsarereallypushy.Sometimes,theytrytokissyouevenifyoudon'twantto.
"It'salotsmootherthroughtheapps.Evenifyou'reshy,youcanjustswiperightonsomeone
andstartaconversation.
"Idon'tgooutmuch,andIdon'tevenhavetogoouttofindsomeoneIlike.Justbeintheapp
forafewminutesandyoucanfindsomeonetotalktoatleast.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt2e3f004275f64bd1b4fe9056540c65f8

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Deborahonpushymen
Duration:0:37

"Beforetheapps,theyusedtohavedatingwebsitespeoplemyagewouldnevereveruse
them.TinderandHappnmadeonlinedatingmoreaccessibleandlessembarrassingto
youngerpeople.Youdon'thavetobeashamedofitanymore,becausemostofyourfriends
useit."

TindertrailsBadoobyjusttwoplacesamonglifestyleappsinBrazil,
ChileandArgentina
Africa

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt2e3f004275f64bd1b4fe9056540c65f8

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ThelackofgoodmobileinternetinmanypartsofAfricameanstheappmarketisstillinits
infancyhere.Manypeopleusesocialnetworksratherthandedicateddatingplatformstomeet
partners.SouthAfricaistheonlyAfricannationincludedintheworld'stop50appmarkets.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt2e3f004275f64bd1b4fe9056540c65f8

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Ithought,Todayismylastdayintheworld'
John',32,Nairobi,Kenya

John,whosenamehasbeenchanged,is32,andworksinabeautysaloninNairobi.He
doesn'twanttousehisrealnamebecausehecouldlosehisjobandhishomeifhisbossand
hislandlordfoundouthewasgay.HeusesPlanetRomeoandFacebooktomeetmen,despite
abadexperienceononemeeting.
"Hetookmyclothesoff,thenItookhisclothesoff.Thenafterfiveminutes,twomencameinto
thehouse.Theystartedshouting,Youpeople,areyougay?'
"Theywantedmetopay50,000[Kenyanshillings],ortheywouldcallMungiki[aviolentcriminal
ganginKenya],whowouldputtyresonmeandsetmeonfire.
"Ithought,OhmyGod,ohmyGod.Todayismylastdayintheworld.'"
Johnmanagedtoescapephysicallyunharmed.

InAfricathepaidforappmarketisinitsinfancy
NorthAmerica
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LikeAustraliaandtheUK,CanadaandtheUnitedStatesturntoTindertomeetnewpeople,
whileMexicofollowsSouthAmericainitsuseofBadoo.Tinderisthe10thmostpopular
lifestyleappinCanadaand15thintheUnitedStates.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt2e3f004275f64bd1b4fe9056540c65f8

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Girlfriendsstartswipingforme
Whitney,24,NewYork,US

Whitney,24,livesinNewYorkandworksinmarketing.ShemainlyusesTinderandOKCupid.
"InNewYork,thereareeightmillionpeople.Howthehellareyousupposedtofindsomeone?
There'ssomanypeople,solittletime.Soweusetoolsforeverything.WehaveUberweeven
havealaundryapp.Whywouldn'twehaveadatingapp?
"Ihavegirlfriendswhoaresinglewhowilltakemyphoneawayjustsotheycanstartswipingfor
mebecauseitbecomesasortofaddictivegamethatyoudo."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt2e3f004275f64bd1b4fe9056540c65f8

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Whitney:Iswipeinmeetings
Duration:0:20

"It'scrazy.You'lljusthaveguyswhoarelike,Doyouwannacomeover?CanIcomeover?Do
youwannameetupnow?Areyoudowntodowhatever?'EvenifIwaslookingforaonenight
stand,notwithyou!Notwithsomeonewhocompletelybypassesetiquette."
Themostdownloadeddatingappbycountry
Country

Topdatingapp

Argentina

Badoo

Australia

Tinder

Austria

Lovoo

Belgium

Tinder

Brazil

Badoo

Bulgaria

Badoo

Canada

Tinder

Chile

Badoo

China

Momo

Colombia

Badoo

CzechRepublic

Badoo

Denmark

Tinder

Egypt

Frim

Finland

Tinder

France

Tinder

Germany

Lovoo

Greece

Tinder

Hungary

Badoo

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt2e3f004275f64bd1b4fe9056540c65f8

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India

Tinder

Indonesia

Badoo

Ireland

Tinder

Israel

Tinder

Italy

Badoo

Japan

YYC

Kenya

Badoo

Kuwait

Badoo

Malaysia

Badoo

Mexico

Badoo

Netherlands

Tinder

NewZealand

Tinder

Nigeria

Badoo

Norway

Tinder

Philippines

Tinder

Poland

Badoo

Portugal

Badoo

Romania

Badoo

Russia

Frim

SaudiArabia

WhosHere

Singapore

Tinder

SouthAfrica

Badoo

SouthKorea

Heartbeep

Spain

Badoo

Sweden

Tinder

Switzerland

Lovoo

Taiwan

iPair

Thailand

Badoo

Turkey

Badoo

Ukraine

Badoo

UAE

Badoo

UK

Tinder

USA

Tinder

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt2e3f004275f64bd1b4fe9056540c65f8

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Vietnam

Paktor

Notesandcredits
Fortheworld's50biggestappmarkets(andtwoadditionalcountriesinAfrica,Nigeriaand
Kenya),weidentifiedthemostdownloadeddatingappinthelifestyleandsocialcategoriesof
Apple'sAppStoreandGooglePlayStoreforthewholeof2015.Wedefinedadatingappas
onethatadvertiseditselfasbeingfordating,orisprimarilyusedforthatpurpose.Forexample,
wedidnotcountFacebookorWhatsapp,eventhoughmanypeopleusethemtomeetnew
people.
InterviewsandresearchbySimonMaybin.ThispagewasdesignedbyEmilyMaguire,
producedbyHenryClarkePriceandJohnWaltonanddevelopedbyPunitShah.

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