2020 was, perhaps, the worst year in living history for singles hoping to bump into an eligible stranger, resulting in massive growth in memberships in the best free dating apps in USA states.

Best10Dating reports on the substantial increases in online dating memberships, with predictions for the future market indicating that digital dating has changed forever.

The Aftermath of Pandemic Dating

Globally, online dating memberships have been pretty stable since about 2017.

Even as lifestyles changed, nothing dramatic happened to encourage people online who preferred more conventional ways of meeting a date.

Cue Coronavirus, and since then:

Almost 40% of singles that are divorced or widowed have used online dating.
Millions of niche dating apps are emerging for specific dating groups - think LGBTQ+ apps or some of the best free dating apps in USA communities for trans singles.
Considerable increases in mature daters are going online.

Much of this growth was in the pipeline but has seen increased pace, with social distancing and isolation protocols acting as a catalyst for considerable change.

Dating Priorities in 2021

Subscriber numbers paint just one part of the overall picture. One of the most crucial concerns in dating users is now around privacy and online security.

Of the current global user base, 41% of Gen X and boomer singles state that they are concerned about organizations mining their data or using it for malicious purposes.

Online dating must therefore pivot and make features such as new member vetting a key offering, and is given as the number one decision-making factor for 22% of the worldwide market.

Zoom fatigue is another phenomenon, whereby around 46% of US daters feel uninterested in online dating due to an attitude of burnout towards video messaging.

It is now up to dating providers to identify fresh ways to facilitate interactions - that are exciting, personal and engaging yet deviate from the exhausted communication models prevalent throughout the health crisis.

Prospects for the Online Dating Market

Going forward, some recent earnings figures and announcements signal that the growth in online dating and potential earnings by the best free dating apps in USA circles is far from at its peak.



Match has purchased Hyperconnect for a budget-busting $1.7 billion (incorporating Hakuna and Azar into the enterprise).
Bumble launched a successful IPO, estimated to be valued at $3.5 billion in the next four years.

Games and fad apps have died a death, with just 13% of all UK and US daters citing a gimmicky feature as an incentive to join an online dating app - or use one more often.

More relevant are apps that seek to host events or enable members to date safely in physical meetings, harnessing the appeal of real-life dating yet retaining the security aspects that digital connections offer.

For more information about our 2021 dating market forecasts, please get in touch with Best10Labs as below: