The first release from the company’s new incubator Zoosk Labs, Lively lets singles give potential matches a more rounded snapshot of themselves with moving collage-style “story” profiles.
Drawing on the popularity of apps like Snapchat, Lively lets singles create profiles that include a mixture of photos and videos.
Speaking about the new product, Zoosk CEO Kelly Steckelberg – who first announced the launch of Lively at GDI Amsterdam in May – said: “We’re focused on building a great business and a portfolio of excellent products.
“Lively, our first offering from Zoosk Labs, is a huge step forward for us. Using photos and videos in a fun collage format, we’ve created a dating experience that helps you really get to know someone in a more authentic, intimate way.”
How does Lively work?
Singles can build their profiles by uploading photos & videos to the app, cropping them and stitching them together with a drag and drop method.
The content can be added to the app from users’ Instagram and Facebook accounts, which can be linked to the dating app.
In terms of its matching system, Lively works like most Tinder-style dating apps, showing users one profile at a time, which they can choose to either like or reject.
Zoosk says Lively is the first dating app “to go beyond static images and text”, and aims to give singles a better glimpse into someone’s life and interests.
When researching Lively, Zoosk conducted a survey amongst members aged between 18 and 34, with 90% saying they were more likely to reach out to someone who had pictures or videos on their dating profile.
In addition to this, 75% of women and 50% of men said they find social media profiles to be more informative about a person than a traditional dating profile.
And Lively is the first app to be released out of Zoosk Labs, the dating brand’s in-house incubator, which is building new products to help grow the company’s portfolio.
At the GDI Amsterdam conference, CEO Kelly Steckelberg also announced Zoosk Labs would be launching another new app this summer, a mobile app that puts a time limit on conversations called Cinch.
After a set time, a conversation between two matches will close, and they will be asked whether to “End Chat” or “Propose Date”.
Lively launched across the US on the App Store today, check it out here.