Active Audience | 77% |
Quality Matches | 92% |
Popular Age | 24-25 |
Profiles | 1 700 000 |
Reply Rate | 86% |
Ease of Use | 6.8 |
Popularity | 9.2 |
Fraud | Very Rarely |
Rating |
9.7
|
Registration | Free |
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Dating apps have become the norm in our daily lives. Today, we do have many dating apps available in the market for those who are in search of love. Tinder, Bumble, Mocospace, and OkCupid are few of them. The rationales of each app vary to a great extent. Both Tinder and Bumble are about the swipes, which means saying “yes,” or “no,” based on if we are swiping right or left. In Bumble, ladies make the first move, and in OkCupid, we can control how much information to reveal up-front. These dating apps have one thing in common, which is that potential mates judge each other based on their looks.
But Willow is seeking a different approach in which instead of swiping based on the first selfies that we see, the app prompts to answer three questions. Other members of the app posts these questions that spark up the conversation. The founder of Willow, Michael Brunch, launched the app on the App store by 2015. He was 24 and fresh out of New York University when he started the dating app. He tried to put the “Social” back in Social media. He said that he realized void while using any other dating applications, which focused on swipes, and he wanted to fill that up by focusing on what the members like.
The idea, according to Brunch, is that most of the dating app fails due to the lack of features that would help to start a conversation with a stranger. In Willow, the scenario is entirely different where the users can connect with others only by starting a conversation. During the Beta release of Willow, there were more than 100,000 people downloaded the app. Brunch is more evident in focusing on the users’ growth before making any monetary decisions.
Most of the Willow members are looking out for friendship and romance. The majority of them are from the USA. The app is hence restricted only to a few countries. One of the best features of Willow is that members don’t have a profile picture. Instead, the users can choose an avatar that best describes their personalities.
The Willow platform is different from other dating networks. The whole ideology behind dating someone has seen a difference. It is not an exclusive dating app. Instead, it helps someone to expand their friends’ circle. It is easy to sign up with Willow through Facebook. We don’t generally see the usual rituals of filling up the personal information on the first go. Willow doesn’t ask for uploading the profile picture, which is mandatory in few applications. The design of the theme of avatars brings a whole lot of energy to the networkers. They can very well choose one to describe their personalities. They can even fill out our personal information like age, sex, height, etc. later on, after registering with them. It encourages people to look up to hearts rather than the features.
The members can see a series of Questions posted on their feed who are across the network. They can choose to answer any of them which they find interesting. The connection then starts from there. It is easy to search a few such questions from the “Discover” tab on the Home page. If a user likes someone on the network, it is quite difficult to approach them since the app doesn’t have the traditional chat feature. Until a question is being answered, the users cannot get connected. It means that the conversation with someone needs the consent of the members who would like to connect.
Most Willow questions come with the tags so users can respond to whatever state of mind they are in right now for sharing it. If they don’t want to answer a question, they can just make a left swipe and select the ‘X’ symbol. This will automatically remove the subject from their timeline. When they want to answer a question, they can click it and write it in the below field. Or if they’re curious about other members’ answers, it’s enough to click on the chat option at the bottom of the question; it displays the answer list.
Registration with the Willow is quite easy and a simple process. For those who would like to join the network either needs a cell-phone number or Facebook account. If done with the Mobile number, sign-up takes the next step of verification. Willow sends a code for verification to the mobile number with which the users are registering. They can proceed with registration then on by entering the code on the verification page.
Registration with Willow is also possible through the Facebook account, where it syncs the name and Email id of the account associated with. Willow doesn’t encourage members to upload their profile picture. It doesn’t even insist on providing the last name or email id. Instead, they can choose an avatar based on their characteristics. If signed on with Facebook, there will be no email verification
Users can fill up their personal information, which is optional in Willow. The last page of the set up would be notification settings where they can choose when they want to receive mobile notifications.
The design of the Willow application is simple and intuitive. The launch page of the application is its home page. Whenever we open the Willow application, the home page shows us it’s features like “Popular,” “Global,” “Local,” etc. These features will have all the questions that the members post on the platform. There is an icon on the top left of the application that indicates “Settings” and the top right corner has the plus sign that indicates “Chat.” You can choose this option to start a conversation.
Unlike other applications, Willow’s navigation will make the members feel at ease. There is no beating around the bush. At the same time, you can also find almost all the features that a dating site could offer. There are around five tabs on the bottom part of the screen. Each tab represents a home page, search, chat exchanges, questions and answers, and the profile icon in the order. Relatively, the design of Willow application is also attractive, and you can get anything that you look out for.
Profiles in Willow doesn’t feature a lot of information. There is an ‘About Me’ box for our short autobiography. The profile displays a list of traits, and we can choose any of them to describe us best. We can select an Avatar as our profile picture. Also, If any other member posts a question, we can answer it. The feature is available in the profile of that member’s ‘Questions’ tab.
The best part about Willow is that we will not be able to view the photo gallery of another member unless we answer his or her questions. The member then approves our request to view his or her gallery. This way, willow ensures the safety of its members and stick on to the fact of connecting with people based on looks.
Ideally
There are only three tabs to the profiles in the Willow app. The first tab is the information regarding the profile, which has three parts. These are optional fill-out for us.
Those who would like to connect to the network should be of 18 years old. The features and the way how members approach each other speaks up for the quality of the Willow app. Any questions that look objectionable will undergo a screening process—this aids in removing such questions and may lead to the cancellation of the account from the network.
Willow is available only for iOS users. They can download it from the App Store for free. The application looks pleasing with green and white combined colors. The performance of the application is very good to an extreme. It has secure navigation options, and the screens are simple and look pleasant. The app doesn’t take much time to load.
The following features are primary in the Willow app.
Group Messages – Members can make use of the communities and connect through idea-driven discussions.
One-on-One – Meeting new people and connecting with others and on topics that mean a lot to them.
Discover – Finding out new friends and connections to have a conversation.
Branches – Easy to keep up with the favorite communities and current chats.
The Security features of the Willow are similar to the other applications in the market. There is a setting option in the top left corner of the screen where the user can choose “Privacy” to change the basic settings. The best safety feature of the Willow is that it doesn’t insist the users upload their image. It also leaves the decision of users to upload their personal information. It is an optional feature, indeed.
Willow doesn’t allow persons under 18 to register for any service. They also claim that they don’t collect any personal information from persons under the age of 18. Willow requires location enabling to use the application effectively. This is because it brings down the Questions posed by the members staying near the selected location. One minor glitch with this app is that it updates the feed from everyone staying near a particular location, and it doesn’t filter any.
The Willow uses the information for improving its services, making special offers to specific users, customizing services, and diagnosing the problems. They claim that they don’t disclose the name, address, email id, or phone number to any third party vendors. At the same time, Willow doesn’t take responsibility for checking the identity of a person since it doesn’t encourage verification. The members must be fully aware of the terms and be extra careful while meeting someone personally.
They also have a stream of code of conduct that clarifies the prohibited activities.
The Willow app is free to download from the App Store, and only iOS users can enjoy using this application. The features that the member use are free. They don’t charge for the chats or discussions that people make across the network. However, few features can be customizable for which Willow’s support team can help. There are no hidden charges, as well. This is because the app doesn’t come with any fancy features, as we can see in various other applications.
There is a total of five support teams with the Willow in which each one supports different functionalities. Users have to contact them through the dedicated team mail id, which is available on their website.
The media team takes care of the support related to all the media clarifications. This included featuring the journey of Willow in any featured media platforms. Willow got itself covered in TIME, tech crunch, MTV, Mac World, Elle, and OCBOS.
The suggestions team takes care of the support related to any general or specific suggestions related to the application. They would also love to hear stories and comments related to the user’s journey with Willow.
The business Support team takes care of business or partnership related inquiries, and the legal team takes care of legal issues.
The tech support team handles the technical glitches that the members face and any privacy-related issues, any addition or modification in the profile data, etc.
In case you have some questions, here are some Q&As to help you.
Willow app is very safe to use. It has a detailed ‘Privacy Policy’ and ‘Terms of Usage’ that the administrators strictly enforce and monitor now and then. According to their privacy policy, if anyone across the network posts an objectionable content, it would lead to the automatic deletion of their account from Willow.
Willow app is one of the best dating apps. Since Willow encourages to establish the connections via conversation and not through the external looks, it stands out of the crowd. There are many apps in the market that lets people date based on the looks. But it doesn’t guarantee to give complete satisfaction in finding the right partner, whereas Willow allows the users to get to know each other. This emphasis on some serious dating.
Willow doesn’t support a desktop version. Downloading the application from the App Store is free of cost. It is unavailable for android users. All that it requires is to sign up for an account and answering the questions that users find to connect with people on their home dashboard. After answering the questions, they can start a conversation with the members who respond to the questions they post. After answering the questions, they can start a conversation with the members who respond to the questions they post.
Yes, Willow is an open-source application that is available on the app store for iOS users. They don’t charge extra for any features. There are no hidden charges also. However, the users can contact the support team to make any enhancements to their profile. It will lead to some minimal charging based on the type of services.
Willow is the real dating app that works well for people who are around for characteristics rather than looks. It indeed works for people who are serious about the relationship. This platform is also for those who want to connect with others to branch their friends’ circle.
Overall, the concept of Willow is truly unique when compared with any other apps in the market. Unlike the other apps, Willow is least bothered about how a person looks, their height, color, race, ethnicity, etc. It encourages members to start a conversation, build it up, and decide if the relationship works. On the other hand, Willow doesn’t take sole responsibility for the identity of the net-workers. The members should be more careful while connecting with anyone on the platform.
We are sure to meet someone who shares the same thoughts and opinions with Willow’s priority in building connections through conversation. Willow’s conversation over appearance allows members to build a foundation for their faceless and pure-hearted relationship. If the judgmental and the rapid, roulette-type matching of other online dating apps is tiring, Willow will fill our needs.