Viber Dating Wants to Solve the Biggest Problem in Dating Apps

(SPOT.ph) “The ecosystem of dating apps has this issue of trying to trap users to keep swiping. For us, this is only a transition of your life. That’s why we focus on real people, real connections.”

That’s how David Tse, APAC Senior Director for Rakuten Viber, sums up Viber’s approach to dating. Unlike traditional dating apps that keep singles in a never-ending cycle of swiping, matching, and ghosting, Viber Dating is designed to move people forward. Since launching on Valentine’s Day, the in-app feature has already racked up over 100,000 profiles in the Philippines alone.

“We understand the fatigue—you are trapped in the cycle of swiping. The moment you find your partner, you graduate from the dating app, which the dating app doesn’t want. They want you to keep being single to keep swiping. For us, this is not a natural progression of any partnership between two people. When you find a partner, you will eventually evolve. You will not be swiping anymore, but you will be having one-on-one conversations within the app. That’s what Viber is,” Tse said.

At first glance, Viber Dating might seem like just another addition to the ever-growing roster of dating apps. It shares the same layout as others—swipe left to pass, swipe right to match—along with a tab to see who’s liked you, but what sets it apart is how it was built: from the ground up, based on real user feedback.

Before rolling it out, Tse and his team from Singapore spent six months in the Philippines, conducting in-person interviews to figure out what people actually wanted from a dating platform. The country became the perfect testing ground as one of Viber’s biggest—and most receptive—markets in the world.

“This product is built from scratch based on audience feedback, the way they see Viber and how we can add value to the superapp. This is based on what people really want,” Tse said.

Viber Dating’s launch also comes on the heels of the company’s expansion into business services in 2024, which focused on improving customer and business relationships. With this, they started looking for the next area to grow. They asked themselves: “Which segment of users needs good communication?” A lightbulb moment came. The move into dating was a natural next step. “Dating is a part that’s absolutely lacking in the ecosystem. To us, this is a huge value-add. As a messaging app, how do we take part in the first part of finding partners?”

Also read: Sick of Swiping Left? Try Your Hand at These Dating Apps

How to build a dating app

So what do people really want? First off, fewer fake profiles. Nothing kills a dating experience faster than matching with bots, catfishers, or potential scammers. Unlike other dating apps where verification is optional, Viber makes it mandatory. Every user has to go through a verification process before they can even start matching. Artificial intelligence and human moderators also keep an eye on things, flagging shady behavior and blocking offenders from the feature.

What’s more, Viber Dating makes use of a platform that people already use for real-life connections—many of whom are professionals, making it a more attractive dating pool for singles.

 “They see the strength of Viber, having a lot of verified, credible users. In fact, some said they love it because they believe Viber has a lot of professional users, unlike other apps,” Tse said.

Then there’s privacy—something Viber knew it had to get right. It made sure to draw a clear demarcation between messaging and dating. Your dating profile exists within the app, but it’s completely separate from your regular Viber chats. (Interestingly, the dating feature doesn’t make Viber’s app size bigger, so users don’t have to deal with slower performance or more storage space). That means no awkward mix-ups with coworkers or clients.

“I believe that dating is a very private thing for people,” Tse said. For extra privacy, your dating profile is automatically hidden from your Viber contacts. In the future, users can also hide their dating profiles from unsaved numbers that exist within Viber—meaning you control exactly who sees you before the chance to encounter your profile even happens. It’s “empowerment to users to hide who they don’t want to be seen [by].”

As mentioned, Viber was never interested in keeping users stuck in a loop of endless swiping. By keeping dating within a platform people already use for work, friends, and family, Viber is making the jump from matching to meaningful conversations feel more natural. You can also delete your dating profile at any time once you're ready to take that next step with that person. 

“For us, it’s engagement, how users really benefit from this from matches,” Tse said. “We don’t see dating as its own—it’s part of an extended lifestyle for a lot of our users. Communication is in anyone’s life.”

Also read: Mare o Jowa? No One Gets Rejected in This Filipino Dating App