Online dating in the Black community is getting a whole lot easier. On Tuesday, April 28th, a new mobile dating app specifically designed for African-Americans was released to Android users.
SoulSwipe, a Tinder-like dating app that allows you to swipe ‘yes’ or ‘no’ based on candidate profiles, uses geographic location to match Black people to other Blacks in their area. The mobile app launched on the Apple App Store in March.
According to the Pew Research Center, in 2005 29 percent of people surveyed believed that individuals who used online dating sites were for the desperate. However the same research showed that in 2013 the number had lessened, with only 21 percent thinking that online dating was for desperate people. Additionally, 59 percent of people surveyed in 2013 thought online dating was a good way to meet people, compared to 44 percent in 2005.
With online dating losing much of its stigma many companies are seeking to take advantage of the trend, which has, perhaps, led to an explosion of dating sites.
Despite a plethora of options, many companies are seeking to go beyond the traditional online dating format and personalize the user’s experience based on things like religion, race, and interests.
“Most dating apps have such a diverse user base, which makes finding someone compatible extremely difficult,” said Gianni Coleman, SoulSwipe general manager. “SoulSwipe shows you exactly who you want to see and makes searching for your next boyfriend or girlfriend seamless.”
And the mobile app may be on to something. Although there are some websites, such as BlackPeopleMeet, solely dedicated to Black dating the app market is scarce.
A general search on the Apple App Store yielded only four results for Black dating apps, which may explain why SoulSwipe has over 70,000 users across the country thus far.
“It’s nice to have a place to connect with my own people,” said Jane Campbell, a SoulSwipe user from Brooklyn, N.Y.
SoulSwipe plans to expand internationally as well, launching in Jamaica later this month.