New Delhi: Their parents may be scrounging matrimonial websites but young Indians with smartphones are spoilt for choice when it comes to local dating apps. Homegrown free apps such as Thrill, Woo, DesiCrush, Truly Madly and more, and are available on both Android and iOS.
Most app developers feel that both the dating and matrimonial markets will continue to exist side by side. However, the growth in the dating market will be much faster than the growth in the matrimonial market. India is a very large country and there are multiple models that work at the same time. So, it is not like one market will die or so.
Just like parents used to create profiles for their children on online marriage bureaus, these apps want the youth to discover and decide on partners themselves.
This is how they work: a user signs up with a picture, and basic details. The account is more often than not linked to the person’s Facebook profile for authenticity. A person can define certain parameters and is then shown different profiles which he can then either like or reject. It is only when two people like each other’s profile mutually are they notified and can begin chatting within the app. If they wish, they can meet offline and take it further.
