Life

This Dating App Scored Big Time In Rio

by Natalia Lusinski

With the Rio Olympics nearly over, a lot of athletes have been winning gold, as well as winning when it comes to dating apps. And, dating app Happn's overall usage went up, with an increase in charms, app openings, likes, messages, and crushes found at three different hot spots within the Olympic Village.

ICYMI, Happn is the dating app that uses geotracking to match you with people you've crossed paths with. So, if you saw a hot guy or girl at a bar — or at an Olympic swimming pool, let’s say — but didn’t say anything, it may not be too late; Happn will let you know who they are, assuming the other person is on the app, of course. Technology, huh?

With Happn becoming more and more popular, with over 20 million users and 1.5 million new users joining every month, it should come as no surprise that Happn usage soared at Olympic Village, which seems like the place to be in Rio. After all, when you intermix 11,000 Olympic athletes, i.e., gods and goddesses, for 16 days, dating—and dating app usage—is bound to increase.

Recently, Bustle teamed up with Happn to learn more about dating app behavior, and of the 1,100 Happn users surveyed, many reported being on their dating apps throughout the day. Why not in Rio then, too, between Olympic events? So if Happn users are on the app in Rio, they only have a limited amount of time to connect, i.e., the duration of the Games, so I’d think that would encourage users to meet even faster.

Last week, Happn matches were up at the Rio Olympics, but this new data shows that overall use went up, too — an increase in charms (aka notifications to refresh someone’s memory that you two crossed paths), app openings, likes, messages, and the aforementioned crushes were found at three different hot spots within the Olympic Village. The data was pulled from August 13-14 and compared to one weekend in July, before the games began.

So where were the three Happn hot spots at Olympic Village, and how much did usage increase? Just like with the Olympic Games themselves, prepare to be blown away.

1. Copacabana Volleyball Arena – Beach Volleyball

Charms: 14,200% Increase

App openings: 6,208% Increase

Likes: 5,755% Increase

Messages: 4,211% Increase

Crushes: 4,390% Increase

2. Carioca Arenas – Basketball (Arena 1), Wrestling/Judo (Arena 2), Fencing/Taekwondo (Arena 3)

Charms: 13,920% Increase

App openings: 6,741% Increase

Likes: 6,451% Increase

Messages: 5,800% Increase

Crushes: 5,945% Increase

3. Olympic Tennis Centre – Tennis

Charms: 12,300% Increase

App openings: 5,510% Increase

Likes: 5,217% Increase

Messages: 4,467% Increase

Crushes: 4,260% Increase

See our infographic below for more info on how Happn and other dating apps did in Rio:

Images: Fotolia, Giphy; Dawn Foster/Bustle