Damn, we love apps. If the volume of Tinder spinoffs (which was already basically a Grindr spinoff) in the app store tells us anything, it’s that we’re really keen on making connections, but want a little help doing it. Plus, that left/right swipe system is fun.
The lastest app encouraging you to swipe your way to love is called Hey! VINA, but it’s about platonic connections, not romance. The app is girls only: it’s here to help women meet other women, and two ladies designed it. For the friends behind the app, Olivia June Poole and Jen Aprahamian, Hey! VINA seeks to solve a problem they’d been having themselves. It was hard to meet new girlfriends when they moved cities, and almost all of their colleagues (they both work in the tech industry) were dudes. So they decided to make Tinder, for gal pals.
The app functions a lot like those already out there. You navigate by swiping, and only get connected when you both swipe right. But Hey! VINA has a few neat tricks in place to line women up with pals who are a good fit. When you open it up, there’s a quick quiz that assembles a basic idea of what you’re into—do you prefer catching up over coffee or beers?—and uses the info to link you up with like-mind potential pals. If you want somebody to go kickboxing with, they’ll pitch you a pal who’s also keen on hitting the gym. Each week, a new quiz will come out, so you keep getting better and better matches. It’s still only available to early adapters in San Francisco and New York, so we’ll see have far this travels.
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Meanwhile, its bigger cousin Tinder just keeps growing, with 1.4 billion swipes made a day. After dropping the super like last year, they’ve just added the option of liking individual messages, “to let your match know that their messaging game is strong,” and sending GIFS. Please though guys, remember to leave the house every now and then.