New iPhone application for dating

Blends of Grindr, a hugely popular mobile phone for gay men, launched Blendr, a version of this app designed to appeal to both homosexuals and heterosexuals. . Blendr uses GPS sensor position to find and connect program users with other users close to each other.

Joel Simkhai, the author of Grindr , the hugely popular mobile phone dating for gay men, has spent a lot of time recently thinking about women.

And two years after launching Grindr downloaded millions of times, Jewish American citizens have been acquainted with Blendr , a version of the app, designed to appeal to both homosexual and opposite sex.

Like Grindr, Blendr uses the iPhone's GPS sensor position to find and connect program users with other users nearby.

The Blendr application launched last week allows free downloads from iTunes or on Facebook, showing images, profiles and preferences of other users that have been "checked" and allowing them to start texting each other.

"Essentially, Blendr is a new way to meet new friends," said Simkhai, founder and CEO of the Los Angeles-based company that supports Grindr and Blendr. "We help You connect with people in the immediate surroundings'.

"You can really see people in the same room, at the same restaurant, in the same gym or supermarket , " he added. "People are really close to you and are in the same space."

Simkhai said he gave Grindr after deciding that the traditional online social network "is not really social."

"You talk to your friends, you talk to your family, you share pictures, links - share, but you're in closed networks , " he said.

"And we told ourselves to combine society and position so we can meet new friends," he added. "Go beyond your closed network."

Grindr was launched in 2009 and has been downloaded more than 2.6 million times in 192 countries, according to Simkhai, saying that there will be 50,000 Grindrs online at any given time.

Blendr was reviewed for a year when developers asked the question: "Will women use it?".

"This is a question we have been thinking for a long time," Simkhai said in an interview with AFP . "We looked at Grindr and we said" OK, what if we just took Grindr and changed the logo, changed colors and released? ".

'And we said: You know, it won't be suitable for women,' he said. 'So we spent the past year thinking about it and making it suitable for women.'

Simkhai says it 'does not eat into awareness' of women who have plenty of time to meet.

'I don't think this is true,' he said. 'They must always try to make sure they can meet people with the same passion.'

'And that's exactly what Blendr brings - helping you find people with the same passion about the same thing with you.'

To make Blendr more attractive to women, the Blendr team combines enhanced privacy and safety features, focusing more on a list of user interests with sports interests. , music, language.

Blendr - iPhone's new app that helps make appointments
Dating in real time. (Source: Dailymail.co.uk)

"We have built security settings to help both women and men feel more comfortable," Simkhai said. "We do not require any information other than your birthday. We do not require a picture, name or email or phone number."

With a "conversion position" , Blendr users can determine exactly who they want to set their position with other users.

"You can provide little if you don't want someone to know exactly where you are," Simkhai said. " You can also block users. You can control who can see you based on gender or sexual orientation or age."

Simkhai said Blendr is not just a "dating site" , although it is similar in comparison to online matchmaking services.

"A lot of traditional dating and social networking is the basis for computers , " he said. "It's not real time."

"With Blendr, if you go from one area of ​​the town to the next, you will see a new group of people," he said . "Those are changes in real time."

"This is a new genre," Simkhai said of Blendr. "Most social networks allow you to meet people based on your interests'.

Blendr is currently available for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad and as a Facebook application; Simkhai hopes to soon have a smartphone version supported by Google's Android software.

This application is currently gaining a lot of profit from advertising but Simkhai said the company can offer future versions that provide some payment features.

He said it is still too early to publish data on the download of Blendr or user gender but data will be made "in the coming weeks or months".