Dating and coffee in one cup

Problems

Nowadays, the number of online dating is constantly growing. According to some studies, more 50% of teenagers make friends online Dating services play an important role as an intermediary between virtual and live communication, so releasing and developing such products is relevant and important.

As you know, the modern dating app market revolves around finding a romantic partner. Typically, such apps are built on the classic “Tinder formula”:

swipe – match – date

In 2022, each of the top 3 popular dating apps in Russia had exactly this structure.

However, this approach has several significant disadvantages:

1. Swipes and Scrolls are long

The huge number of “potential partners” on the phone screen creates the illusion that the right person will be found very quickly. However, the desired “match” often occurs only a few days after the start of use. Moreover, the probability of a match increases with the number of profiles viewed, which forces the user to regularly spend time on monotonous operations.

It doesn't end there: after a mutual like, you need to set up a date, and that takes time. There is also a risk that the user will not be satisfied with the meeting, and such a large expenditure of effort will cause frustration.

2. Low security

Perhaps this is such a sore subject for users of such applications that instead of describing the problem, you can simply recall the TV series Tinder Swindler or invite readers to open a search engine and see for themselves the numerous “skeletons in the closet” of the dating app market.

This is precisely the point that puts off many potential users, so it is important to offer new secure application concepts or improve old ones.

3. We don't give chances to those who deserve them

When we have access to a seemingly endless supply of beautiful and interesting people, our standards often rise sharply, causing us to overlook those who may actually be “the one.”

The “smart algorithms” that such apps are full of sometimes only make things worse by partially deciding for us who to choose.

How to solve these problems?

Solution methods

Well, let's start with the point about time. You can simply limit the users themselves. For example, this is what Breakfast. The application works like this:

“1. If you are ready to have breakfast soon, press the button on the main screen.

2. A smart algorithm selects a potential interlocutor within a few hours. The founders call it a chance.

Then the two people have 24 hours to agree on a meeting, otherwise the chance will disappear. You can only get one chance per day for breakfast.

3. You meet someone and have a great time over breakfast. Or not. If the conversation doesn't work out, that's okay too. You just need to wait for another chance and not worry too much about it.“

Such “instant meetings” solve not only the issue of time, but also of safety, since they are tied to public places. Nevertheless, you still have to manage to agree on and quickly choose a meeting place.

Another app that can save you time is SkyLoveThere are no swipes here, instead you create an event and set a place and time for the meeting. After that, requests will come from people who want to join you.

For the initiator of the meeting, this significantly speeds up the selection process, and the implementation of the map helps the visitor choose the nearest and most convenient event. However, here it seems as if one can expect some kind of “set-up” from the organizer of the meeting, so SkyLove did not receive a full score from me for the safety criterion.

The concept of “events” is also used, for example, by the application Fitil. It positions itself as a service for serious dating based on psychoanalysis (at the beginning you will have to pass a test of 111 questions), where you are matched with a potential partner based on compatibility. However, you will not be able to just write to him, you will have to buy a ticket to one of the events that the company organizes (the types of events vary: from hikes to master classes, etc.).

Safe? Very safe, but it takes a loooong time.

In the end, I didn't like any of the apps. There was only one way out: to create a decent alternative myself that could meet all my requirements.

So, what do we need? A public place where we are likely to end up, say, for 15 minutes, to spend some of our free time. What could it be?! I think many would say “a coffee shop”. That’s what I thought too. This was the starting point for creating Coffee meet-up.

Application concept

The idea was this:

At first, the user creates an account, after which a map with the nearest coffee shops becomes available to him, he chooses the appropriate one and plots a route. When he gets to the coffee shop, he becomes visible to people nearby. After that, other users can send him a meeting request, and he can decide with whom he would like to share a cup of coffee today.

Initially, it was planned that all coffee shops would be visible, but there were problems with the database and the map engine, and it was decided that the user would have access to coffee shops of a particular company. Since I planned to test the application in Moscow, I chose one chain of well-known coffee shops, in the capital you can see them literally on every corner. This made the idea even more marketable and implementable, because you can replace this chain with any other (and maybe even your own) company.

I wanted to abstract from the idea of ​​apps purely for finding romantic relationships; in Coffee meet-up, “dating” is more about finding interesting interlocutors and friends, and not just potential partners.

Also, since I decided to make a coffee shop dating app, I couldn't help but add a “coworking” option. Finding partners to work with can give you a boost and help in your work and studies, and in addition to your black coffee, your new acquaintance can also cheer you up before the deadline.

We also wanted people to meet without prejudices and expectations. Therefore, it was decided that there would be no filtering by the selection algorithm, you can only set up filters for age (from and to), type of meeting (coworking/dating) and gender (m/f).

Working on the project

And now, after working out the concept of the application, it’s time to implement it.

I worked on the project from October to May and, overall, achieved the desired result in 8 months.

It is worth noting here that this was not just my first experience writing an Android app, it was my first time creating a large project. Before that, I had experience working with Python, but it was limited to solving problems and Telegram bots, there was no talk of any large programs. In the fall, I entered the Samsung IT School at RUDN (in Moscow, on Ordzhonikidze Street) and it was thanks to my studies and practice there that the implementation of my idea became possible.

When I started working, my knowledge of Java and Android was almost at the “Hello world” level, so I divided the project into several parts, implementing simpler components first, then more complex ones.

I started the work by connecting Firebase, implementing a profile, registration and login. In total, there were 5 Activities.

Next came the time to implement the chat, where would a dating app be without it? I didn’t use any special libraries to implement the chat, only firebase to receive and exchange data, so I had to tinker with this point. Here, two activities were implemented: RecentConversationsActivity (“Recent Dialogues”) and ChatActivity itself.

And now it's time to do the most difficult thing: connect the map and program the meeting logic. For this, I chose the OSMdroid engine, maybe not the best, but free and reliable. The implementation took 4 Activities and several fragments.

I will cover the meeting process in more detail in a separate section later, as this is the main “feature” of Coffee meet-up.

I paid a lot of attention to the UI. I wanted it to be clear, consistent with the theme of the coffee shops, and also for it to stand out. To do this, I regularly consulted with my acquaintances and friends. In particular, the application mascot was created through joint efforts.

I learned about such magical things as Clean Architecture and Navigation Graph in May, when I decided to independently study Android development in Kotlin in more detail, so Coffee meet-up cannot boast of a good architecture. In addition, there are memory leaks and some deprecated methods. But, despite all this, Coffee meet-up copes well with its task of being a “prototype” for implementing the idea of ​​​​an application.

Meetings

And now the cherry on the cake! How do meetings take place in Coffee meet-up and what makes them safe, fast and interesting?

As already mentioned, there are two scenarios for the development of events: the first for the initiator of the meeting, the second for the visitor.

Meeting Initiator

Let's say you decide to find a coffee shop near your home before going to work or school, and at the same time share your first cup of coffee with a new friend. Your plan of action is as follows:

1. Open the application and go to the map

2. Select the “Free coffee shops” option

3. Now just choose a free coffee shop

4. Plot your route

5. Get to the coffee shop and get activated

6. Choose the user you like and go to the chat

7. If you decide to meet, then you drop the location

8. Now wait (you can even order coffee for the visitor)

Visitor

What does your future “juice drinker” do during this time?

Its algorithm is as follows:

1. Open the application and go to the map

2. Select the “Active points” option

3. Chooses you from the available people

4. Sends a request

5. Receives a message from you and starts a conversation

6. Receives a location from you and goes to “Route”

7. Comes to you and can't wait to meet you (and have coffee, of course)

I would like to point out that the visitor does not know which coffee shop you are in (this is security), but he can be sure that you are definitely no further than 1 km from him (and this is speed).

Each user can cancel the meeting if they suspect something is wrong. Also, both activation and the meeting are cancelled if the initiator of the meeting leaves the coffee shop.

Beta testing

In the spring, after successfully testing the work on emulators, I started connecting my friends for testing, there were 8 participants in total, including me. At first, we agreed in advance who and in which coffee shop would meet, and checked the work of the application. Then we chose an area and tested the Coffee meet-up application, without agreeing on a meeting place in advance. The last stage was to organize a meeting for people who did not know each other.

Thanks to testing, I was able to identify and fix some bugs, as well as make the interface more understandable for users. In addition, we simply had a good time, and also got a lot of pleasant and funny memories.

As a result, we managed to organize several successful meetings, and the participants of the third stage even continued to communicate after the testing.

In June, we retested with two new participants who had no prior knowledge of how the app worked. The guys managed to figure out the general functionality and, with the help of other testers, were able to organize a meeting themselves.

All beta testers were satisfied with the application and are now waiting for further development of the project.

Results

The Coffee meet-up application continues to develop and is already making its first progress.

I defended this project as my graduation thesis at Samsung IT School and received 10 out of a possible 10 points, became the winner of the first and second stages of the “IT School Chooses the Strongest!” competition and took second place in the “Social Applications” nomination in the final of the competition.

I believe that this is not the end, but just the beginning. In the future, I plan to make a full-fledged service available not only on Android, cooperate with real coffee shops and, of course, help people find new friends to share delicious coffee with.