Top 10 Features to Include in Your Dating App Development

Are you planning to develop a dating application but are confused about the features that attract more users? Then, you are at the right place. Here, we will guide you with 10 amazing dating app features that will help you in standing out. 

In the last few years, dating apps have brought an online revolution, which has altered the way people meet and date each other. Online dating app development services are much faster and more convenient than offline dating. It also provides more options to the users. With the rising number of dating apps, more entrepreneurs and developers are entering the mobile dating market. 

These features of a dating app start with an advanced algorithm that ensures perfect matches to engaging profiles that showcase personality. They also involve an encrypted messaging system, video calling for deeper connections, and several other modes of privacy settings to encourage a secure environment. 

With the emergence of industry and the expectation of its users, developers are pushed to innovate continually. Understanding the influence of these features is significant for anyone planning to enter this market or willing to improve their existing application. In this post, we will explore important features that make a dating app stand out and engage a wide range of audiences. 

Market Stats of the Dating Industry

• The global dating apps market size is anticipated to be worth USD 9329.96 million in 2025 and is expected to reach USD 13587.15 million by 2034 at a CAGR of 4.81%.
• The online dating market is projected to reach US$3.24bn in 2026.
• In the online dating market, the number of users is expected to amount to 475.1 million by 2030.

How to Increase Engagement and User Retention in Dating Apps?

Before we walk through our lists of features of dating app, let’s take a look at what usually happens when a person first begins using a dating site.

First, they create their profile and upload a few pictures of themselves.

Second, they begin searching for potential matches based on their location, preferences, and interests.

After they have found a match that has potential, they then try to find a way to communicate with that match. This is where your dating site can really stand out with a fully functional chat system that includes voice and video chat.

Instead of a boring SMS text messaging system, a fully functional chat system with rich media and social media integration is a fantastic way to keep your users engaged and in contact with their potential matches, whether it be for a long-term relationship or a quick hook-up.

Even if your users do manage to connect, there is still the problem of them exchanging numbers so that they can continue their conversation outside of your site, or worse, watching their potential matches fall by the wayside because they never follow through.

Top 10 Dating App Features that Spark Connections Between Users

Besides the most obvious features, like geolocation, preference-based filtering, and privacy and security measures, there are the best dating app features that target the enhancement of engagement between users.

This section has provided the top features in dating app that enhance engagement, as well as how they work, along with examples:

1. In-App Purchases and Monetization Options

A dating app needs to have monetization strategies to satisfy the requirements for continued and expanded development. The use of subscription charges, in-app purchases such as boosts and super likes, and an ad revenue stream ensures that the app generates income while increasing user satisfaction.

2. Geolocation and Proximity-Based Matching

Geolocation is a practical feature in dating app development services that recommends local matches to improve face-to-face interactions among users. Dating apps allow users to set parameters for their search distance according to their preferences and needs.

3. Safe & Frictionless User Onboarding Process

Safety is a very important aspect of dating apps. What you want to do is collect basic information from your users, protecting their data, especially if you are asking for sensitive information, like marital status or age. You want to give your users the freedom to feel comfortable with the amount of information they are providing, so don’t be too aggressive. 

In general, the more information you can get, the better the user experience will be, but you have to make sure that the app is not too creepy. Establish some strong boundaries about how much personal information users should provide. Once that is done, the dating app development company should also make sure that users appear the same as their pictures (you can use social networks such as Facebook or Instagram to automatically verify this). 

Here’s a small pro tip for you: videos through the chat box are also a safe way to help users learn more about their new potential dates.

4. Advanced Matching Recommendations

People use mobile dating apps in order to find people they have things in common with. So, recommending high-quality dates is a very important part of your matching algorithm. Make sure that the recommendation algorithm considers basic features, such as age, interests, location, and religion. Having something in common can make it easier for people to connect. You should also consider the top features in dating app, creating a feature that filters out people who are not a good fit. 

We provide a settings screen, where users can choose their preferences in terms of age, gender, and location. Thus, you can change or update any fields you want. It’s really convenient. Having a profile field such as "bio" allows users to express themselves in original ways, enhancing the value of our dating app.

5. Chat – Text, Photo & Video Messaging

Although this seems like a no-brainer, having a chat functionality in a dating app is very important. This is how users who have matched get to know each other, get familiar with each other, and set up dates in the real world. Ensure that the dating app development services, like chat functionality, are in real-time because nobody wants to use email for this. The chat functionality should be fun, interactive, and fast. 

It should be able to send at least text messages, photos, and videos. You should also consider adding functionality for audio calls, video calls, GIFs, stickers, and so on. Another great feature would be to provide suggestions for opening a conversation with a question. Most of these chat functionalities are provided by our dating app template. The real-time chat functionality is fully integrated with backend services, including text messages, photo messaging, the photo camera, emojis, and so on.

6. User Blocking & Reporting

There are two sides to every story. In addition to easily connecting people, users are also at risk of being exposed to bad guys, scammers, or pathetic, perverted individuals who will deliberately send pornographic/sensitive messages or pictures. Users should feel safe when using your application. To make them feel empowered, your dating app development services should have functions such as blocking or reporting other users. This way, you will ensure that your user base is of high quality, and the experience will be great for all users of your network.

7. Push Notifications

Like most of the features of dating app, this should also have a push notification system to alert users to the latest updates in real-time. Users want to be informed immediately about what happens to their online dating profile, and you should have a system in place to notify them when they receive new chat messages, photos, or new matches. 

Apart from providing a great user experience, push notifications are also an effective way to increase user acquisition, as they help users return to your app. Push notifications are the most effective tool for improving user retention. Push notifications are also one of the main differences between online dating sites and traditional dating sites, where all activities were done through email.

8. Reviews & Ratings After the First Date

Definitely, you should add a feature of writing reviews and ratings after the first date. It may sound strange, but your app should have this feature. It will help users understand what the other half of the population thinks of them if they still want to continue dating. It is also a lot of fun! You can also add a feature where users can write their own reviews and brag about how good they are at dating. There are a ton of awesome key features you can add to this part, so be original.

9. Eye-catching User Interface

Your interface is your product. It’s the only thing your users touch your product with, so you have to make sure they have an amazing interface. Pictures are the lifeblood of dating app development services because they’re the central part of the first impression. So you have to make sure that the functionality around pictures is smooth and beautiful.

10. Other Mobile Dating App Feature Ideas

• Place recommendations, such as a bar, restaurant, activity, etc., for the first date. This could be the biggest monetization strategy. 
• Gift suggestions based on user preferences. 
• Digital gifts involving digital flowers, chocolate, and more. 
• Small games that help people to interact and get to know each other. 
• Superlike button, which is for the user, and for it, an extra payment is required. 

Wrapping it 

As you can see, there are a bunch of awesome key features that a mobile dating app idea should have. You can take this article as inspiration and choose the features that you think are the most valuable. Meanwhile, make sure your final dating app is the best one out there. To do that, you need to be creative and original while also keeping the key features that are the status quo in mobile dating apps.

If there is one thing that you should take away from this article, then it is this: Dating should be FUN! No matter what features you choose to include, you should definitely consider starting your app development with a dating app template so that you don’t waste your precious resources (money, time, and energy) on reinventing the wheel. At MSM Coretech, we are a leading dating app development company that offers development to advance custom features. We have a team of experts delivering a unique app. 

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The Author

Pooja Sinha

Pooja is a Senior Content Writer with a degree in Journalism and Mass Communication. With years of experience across various domains, she crafts engaging, reader-oriented content. Her creativity flows beyond writing, which is music. It is her escape and inspiration, where she finds emotions, rhythm, and words that breathe life into her storytelling and keep her passion alive.