Young professionals hoping to be swept right off of their feet are in luck. LinkedUp! is a new dating app that puts a more trustworthy and professional twist on online dating.
The LinkedUp! app is similar to the massively popular dating app Tinder in many ways. Users log in using an existing social media account that is used to build their dating profile. Users set age, gender and distance restrictions on the type of people they would like to be matched with and then can browse pictures and profiles of other singles. If a user is interested in the individual they are viewing they can “like” them by swiping right, or they can “pass” by swiping left. If both users “swipe right” on each other’s profiles they are given the opportunity to message.
A few major features set LinkedUp! apart from dating app competitors. The most important difference is the social media site that is used to build profiles. While Tinder runs through Facebook, LinkedUp! uses LinkedIn, offering a more professional experience. LinkedUp! shows user’s location, education, industry, current job and shared connections, while Tinder profiles merely show shared interests and Facebook friends.
Many users say the app using LinkedIn is an attractive feature because it draws a more serious and career-oriented audience. Users are also more confident that the profiles they are seeing are legitimate.
“We are based on the premium-quality LinkedIn network, which allows users a truer sense of identity and a higher level of comfort that who they are interacting with on the app is a real person,” said founder, CEO and president of LinkedUp! Max Fischer. “Users get a better sense of where other users are from, what they do and where they went to school, which are some of the most important questions in terms of first interactions in the dating process.”
Fischer came up with the idea for LinkedUp! just over a year ago when he took someone out on a date through LinkedIn. LinkedUp! has simplified the process Fischer used and is already yielding results.
“We have seen people go on dates already within the first couple of days of the application going live,” Fischer said.
Katherine Gore, a freshman studying nursing, sees the potential for the app to bring people with similar goals together.
“I think LinkedUp! sounds really cool and has the potential to be very effective in matching people,” Gore said. “I don’t use dating apps personally, but I think that this app will be more appealing and useful than Tinder to focused individuals who want to meet other people who are also driven.”
Other students are still skeptical about the quality of the dating experience LinkedUp! will offer.
“LinkedUp! generally feels safer than most dating apps, because it looks deeper into individuals. However, the app is still relatively new and doesn’t have all that many people to connect with,” said Michaela Huntsman, an elementary education major from Las Vegas, Nevada. “But (LinkedUp!) definitely holds promise.”
