Why dating apps are falling out of favour

Dating apps have transformed how people meet romantic partners. But they seem to be falling out of favour.

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Data shows that last year, four of the biggest dating apps in the UK lost over a million users between them. And research my colleague and I worked on suggested that this is because people have become frustrated and bored with digital matchmaking.

The frustration is usually the result of inconsiderate behaviour from other app users. And the boredom appears to stem from a growing belief that the AI used by these apps seems to prioritise short-term engagement metrics over meaningful connections.

This marks a significant shift from earlier online dating websites, which were notably more transparent about how they tried to establish authentic connections. Often this was through detailed answers to compatibility quizzes or personality assessments.

For example, OkCupid. com, founded in 2004, asked users a wide range of multiple-choice questions. It then went further by also asking them to specify the responses to those same questions they wanted to see from prospective partners.

In contrast, today’s dating apps increasingly rely on less transparent AI which seems to be based on simplistic engagement metrics rather than a path to genuine compatibility.