In India, online dating was considered a big taboo a few times ago. And it still is in many cities. This is a belief of the Founder of the dating app Aisle, Able Joseph. Initially, it was a difficult time for them to grow their market in India. But now, they easily can do it. Here is an interview of the CEO with one publisher.

How did the dating app Aisle come about? What was the inspiration?

Aisle, which was founded in 2014, is currently the second most downloaded dating app in India. It was developed as a wise middle path between matrimony sites and casual dating apps for people who were looking for serious relationships. People who were looking for arranged marriages online were not happy with the profiles on the platform as they were managed by parents and not the person themselves. On the other hand, dating apps were helping users find love online but the user intent on most of these casual apps remained unestablished.  We saw an opportunity there to create a high intent dating platform and founded Aisle as a singles’ community. The idea was to help users connect with their potential partners directly and create an alternative to the existing matrimonial sites and casual dating apps.

Has it grown in terms of the number of members and outreach?

Aisle has grown exponentially over the past 6 years and we have crossed 5 million users in the beginning of 2021. In the last year alone, we added 2 million users. Apart from Tier 1 cities we are also seeing an increase in our Tier 2 & Tier 3 cities userbase.

Since India is a diverse country with different cultures and religions, what was the impact of Aisle? Was it taken seriously? Has the company received any negativity or backlash from any group?

Unlike western dating apps, Aisle is built according to the Indian sentiments/sensitivities and provides its users a platform for meaningful relationships. It is designed taking into account the culture, subculture and counterculture. On Aisle, the profiles will not just have a photo and a name but also details that potential partners would like to know including one’s faith, mother tongue, community etc. Due to its high intent, Aisle has more success stories per 1000 users than any other dating app in India and we’d say that’s a good measure that speaks for itself.

How’s the competition with other dating apps, particularly Tinder as its internationally renowned?

We are a dating app which is made by Indians and for Indians. Aisle is exactly designed keeping in mind Indian preferences and works as a relationship centric platform that connects people looking for love. We were the 2nd most downloaded dating app in 2020 and were ranked 3rd amongst the top grossing dating apps after the billion dollar companies like Tinder and Bumble. Tinder’s entry into India happened when the general dating sentiment was conservative. The company however did enjoy first mover advantage. A lot of young people wanted to experience dating and hopped on to the wagon. Tinder did not change its strategies according to the Indian youth and continued to replicate its western strategies. Today people are moving beyond the western apps and the casual fling culture and inclining towards high intent matchmaking.

What is the potential market scope for dating apps in India?

Online dating in India was considered to be a big taboo due to cultural restrictions and lack of trust on dating apps. People preferred looking for a partner in their limited vicinity and were averse to the idea of finding love online. The advent of matrimonial apps changed the status quo. People started finding potential marriage prospects online. However, the autonomy on these apps to find a partner still belonged to families and extended family.

They added that they will also follow all the safety protocols for virtual dating through the app. They have said that the app stands with the community during this tough time that we all are facing.

Other than this, many other companies are also trying to help and do their bit for the covid second wave. Start India, Yash Raj films, and even many more companies are trying to do their bit and make the suffering easier for the country.

Happn is one of the known dating apps in India. It already is doing good with an unlimited no. of users in it. You can simply start using the app and get all those premium features without paying a lot for it. Although the app has its own paid version, you still can use the free-of-cost version available for everyone.

The app had seen a great hike in their users while it was a lockdown. Thanks to its features, people have enjoyed using the app and made some good friends there. Happn is soon going to have an exclusive feature of voice. People can send voice texts to each other and talk while using the app. It is going to be a new feature for everyone.

The app works in real-time geolocation basis due to which if you are crossing someone, you will be able to connect with the person and you can initiate the chat if the person is interested in you. The app always wanted to provide the best to the customers.

On the same, the CEO of the dating app, Didier Rappaport said- “The integration of the senses into online dating is one of the biggest challenges applications will face in the coming years. We have chosen to start with the voice, and we are convinced it will totally revolutionize how we meet and get to know other people.”

What are your thoughts on it?

Bumble is an app which is very similar to other dating apps and the concept of the app is also not something very new. However, there is one feature of the app that makes it a pretty feminist. If you download the app, you will get to know that only women can make the first move on such apps. if you are a man, you can not make any move unless the women are interested in you. Other than this, all rest of the things such as gender, personal information, sexual orientation, pictures, interest is the same as other apps.

According to a famous magazine, what makes Bumble stand out is- “women text first” feature in hetersoexual equations. But when it comes to same sex equations, either party can initiate the conversation. Many people have seen this as an empowering feature for women, that inadvertently gives them an upper hand in the conversation initiation process, perhaps because they can pick and choose who to text and who not to text. Interestingly, if no texts are sent by women within 24 hours, the match expires, and the conversation window is suspended. It is perhaps this “empowering feature” that drove Bumble to market itself as a “feminist” app.

The government of Pakistan has blocked few dating apps which are very popular and widely used such as Grindr, Tinder, OkCupid and etc. These apps are blocked since they have been accused for not adhering to the local laws and sharing the indecent content on internet. The government of Pakistan has also sent few notices to many such companies stating them to remove the dating service and live streaming from the apps.

According to the Pakistan Laws, extra marital relationships and homosexuality are illegal and this is the reason why such apps are blocked. However, after failing to get ant response from such apps, the government straight blocked these apps.

The country has also issued a final notice to TikTok and asked the platform to remove the indecent content.

As per the Global Mobile Consumer Trends Reports 2020, India has seen a 398% jump in the daily active users on the dating apps. In other words, there is a huge jump of active additional 1 million active users.

The 413% jump of new users has also been seen. The report says that the data patterns of 1.5 Billion mobile app users has spread over 5 different geographical regions. It has been seen during this year as people were at home and free. The report says- “Gaming apps have seen the largest growth in India. The number of new users, active users and frequency of usage increased much more than the global average,”

It is the maximum that India has witnessed during the lockdown period and more and more people are now using dating apps over other apps.

Due to the tension going on between India and China, the government has taken a drastic step and has banned all the Chinese apps from India. On June 29, India banned around 59 apps from India in which some of were very famous such as ShareIT and etc and now again, they have banned 118 apps including this dating app called Malay social dating app which is being used in India since many years. Here is the list of the apps they have banned-

 

1.APUS Launcher Pro- Theme, Live Wallpapers, Smart

2.APUS Launcher -Theme, Call Show, Wallpaper, HideApps

3.APUS Security -Antivirus, Phone security, Cleaner

4.APUS Turbo Cleaner 2020- Junk Cleaner, Anti-Virus

5.APUS Flashlight-Free & Bright

6.Cut Cut – Cut Out & Photo Background Editor

7.Baidu

8.Baidu Express Edition

9.FaceU – Inspire your Beauty

10.ShareSave by Xiaomi: Latest gadgets, amazing deals

11.CamCard – Business Card Reader

12.CamCard Business

13.CamCard for Salesforce

14.CamOCR

15.InNote

16.VooV Meeting – Tencent Video Conferencing

17.Super Clean – Master of Cleaner, Phone Booster

18.WeChat reading

19.Government WeChat

20.Small Q brush

21.Tencent Weiyun

22.Pitu

23.WeChat Work

24.Cyber Hunter

25.Cyber Hunter Lite

26.Knives Out-No rules, just fight!

27.Super Mecha Champions

28.LifeAfter

29.Dawn of Isles

30.Ludo World-Ludo Superstar

31.Chess Rush

32.PUBG MOBILE Nordic Map: Livik

33.PUBG MOBILE LITE

34.Rise of Kingdoms: Lost Crusade

35.Art of Conquest: Dark Horizon

36.Dank Tanks

37.Warpath

38.Game of Sultans

39.Gallery Vault – Hide Pictures And Videos

40.Smart AppLock (App Protect)

41.Message Lock (SMS Lock)-Gallery Vault Developer Team

42.Hide App-Hide Application Icon

43.AppLock

44.AppLock Lite

45.Dual Space – Multiple Accounts & App Cloner

46.ZAKZAK Pro – Live chat & video chat online

47.ZAKZAK LIVE: live-streaming & video chat app

48.Music – Mp3 Player

49.Music Player – Audio Player & 10 Bands Equalizer

50.HD Camera Selfie Beauty Camera

51.Cleaner – Phone Booster

52.Web Browser & Fast Explorer

53.Video Player All Format for Android

54.Photo Gallery HD & Editor

55.Photo Gallery & Album

56.Music Player – Bass Booster – Free Download

57.HD Camera – Beauty Cam with Filters & Panorama

58.HD Camera Pro & Selfie Camera

59.Music Player – MP3 Player & 10 Bands Equalizer

60.Gallery HD

61.Web Browser – Fast, Privacy & Light Web Explorer

62.Web Browser – Secure Explorer

63.Music player – Audio Player

64.Video Player – All Format HD Video Player

65.Lamour Love All Over The World

66.Amour- video chat & call all over the world.

67.MV Master – Make Your Status Video & Community

68.MV Master – Best Video Maker & Photo Video Editor

69.APUS Message Center-Intelligent management

70.LivU Meet new people & Video chat with strangers

71.Carrom Friends : Carrom Board & Pool Game-

72.Ludo All Star- Play Online Ludo Game & Board Games

73.Bike Racing : Moto Traffic Rider Bike Racing Games

74.Rangers Of Oblivion : Online Action MMO RPG Game

75.Z Camera – Photo Editor, Beauty Selfie, Collage

76.GO SMS Pro – Messenger, Free Themes, Emoji

77.U-Dictionary: Oxford Dictionary Free Now Translate

78.Ulike – Define your selfie in trendy style

79.Tantan – Date For Real

80.MICO Chat: New Friends Banaen aur Live Chat karen

81.Kitty Live – Live Streaming & Video Live Chat

82.Malay Social Dating App to Date & Meet Singles

83.Alipay

84.AlipayHK

85.Mobile Taobao

86.Youku

87.Road of Kings- Endless Glory

88.Sina News

89.Netease News

90.Penguin FM

91.Murderous Pursuits

92.Tencent Watchlist (Tencent Technology

93.Learn Chinese AI-Super Chinese

94.HUYA LIVE – Game Live Stream

95.Little Q Album

96.Fighting Landlords – Free and happy Fighting Landlords

97.Hi Meitu

98.Mobile Legends: Pocket

99.VPN for TikTok

100.VPN for TikTok

101.Penguin E-sports Live assistant

102.Buy Cars-offer everything you need, special offers and low prices

103.iPick

104.Beauty Camera Plus – Sweet Camera & Face Selfie

105.Parallel Space Lite – Dual App

106.”Chief Almighty: First Thunder BC

107.MARVEL Super War NetEase Games

108.AFK Arena

109.Creative Destruction NetEase Games

110.Crusaders of Light NetEase Games

111.Mafia City Yotta Games

112.Onmyoji NetEase Games

113.Ride Out Heroes NetEase Games

114.Yimeng Jianghu-Chu Liuxiang has been fully upgraded

115.Legend: Rising Empire NetEase Games

116.Arena of Valor: 5v5 Arena Games

117.Soul Hunters

118.Rules of Survival