Is Okcupid A Good Dating App
OkCupid looks good on paper, and some may even say that it looks good on screen due to having an “aesthetically pleasing” color scheme and app interface, but the proof is most definitely in. Most – if not all – dating apps utilize some amount of paywalling so I guess I’m just complaining that this site isn’t 100% free. A lack of interactive features is a bit of a downer. For a dating site of OKCupid’s magnitude, I honestly expected a few more ways to communicate with members. Maybe some chat rooms or forums or something.
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TL;DR: OKCupid’s study on male dating photos fails reproducibility
If you’re a guy who uses online dating sites/apps, you’ve probably heard this one: don’t smile in your picture. Better yet, don’t smile and look away from the camera.
This tip originated on the OkCupid’s OkTrends blog in January 2010. The post was called The 4 Big Myths of Profile Pictures.
Growing skepticism
Since OkCupid published their data in support of not smiling in pics, the tip has been quoted as gospel truth on dating advice blogs, PUA podcasts, dozens of dating subreddits, forums, everywhere.
But, at the same time, widespread skepticism rose too. One Reddit commenter put it this way:
“Despite what OkCupid may say, I believe that in Tinder’s last roundup of the top 100 male profiles, basically all of them were smiling in their lead picture.”
Further — everywhere men floated the “don’t smile in pictures” advice, many women decried how much they hated these nonsmiling pictures. But, the men countered, women don’t necessarily know what they want. After all, OkCupid’s findings were based on behavior, not just talk, right?
Photofeeler steps in
This is where we at Photofeeler come in. Like everyone else, we believed in OkCupid’s conclusions. But the more data we collected about men’s dating photo attractiveness, the more it became undeniable: OkCupid’s advice wasn’t raising men’s photo scores.
At first, this realization was frustrating. We even worried our tool could be flawed. But every time we looked into this, we found the same thing: daters who used Photofeeler for photo testing were getting right-swipes like never before. In fact, users reported 3-5x (200-400%) more matches! So the opinions on our site were translating directly into behavior.
We decided it was time for someone to challenge the OkCupid study.
Using the massive stores of data on our platform, we set out to reproduce OkCupid’s process (as laid out by the Myths of Profile Pictures post). We narrowed the demographics of our data set accordingly, matching their 7,140-photo sample. Then we ran each picture through a variety of analysis scripts (in our case, neural nets that detected smiles and eye contact) as well as tagged each one by hand until total agreement was reached. Finally, we used Photofeeler attractiveness ratings to gauge the success of the various photo types (smiling, not smiling, eye contact, no eye contact).
What We Found (Results/Findings)
Here is OkCupid’s study results vs. our own:
OkCupid’s data said that not smiling and not making eye contact was better.
Ours says that whether you smile or not makes no statistically-significant difference (except in the case of eye contact and no smile, which is harmful).
Here are some possible reasons behind the differing results.
I. Evidence suggests OkCupid manipulated their data set to get a click-worthy result
Let’s be real here: research can be a racket. Back in 2010, no one would publish “smiling works great in dating photos!!1” because most people assumed that already. Affirming what people already know is boring. A counter-intuitive result (e.g. “smiles are actually unattractive!”) was far more sensational.
Most people think data ought to speak for itself. But data can be manipulated. To put it frankly, data can be manipulated to show practically any result that the scientist would like it to. And in OkCupid’s case, it’s reasonable to assume that they got the interesting result they wanted, in part, by cutting out particular populations from their data set.
OkCupid used a sample of 7,140 photographs from users aged 18-32, in big cities, possessing average attractiveness (that is, they lopped off the top and bottom 20%), and who had profiles containing only one photo and no text. Then “after a bit more sifting” (!), they landed on their study’s data set.
Why did OkCupid eliminate users outside of the ages of 18 and 32? Why did they eliminate users who were most and least attractive? The explanation given (that they “[feared it] would skew [their] results”) is no explanation at all. They didn’t have to “fear” anything because, in all likelihood, they first ran their numbers with these populations included. They just didn’t get as interesting of a result that way.
The over-sifting of the data set likely obscured other trends that were more responsible for profile success than the photo characteristics the study claimed to be measuring. For instance, it’s possible that the men in the top 20% of attractiveness were attractive and smiling, and the men in the bottom 20% of attractiveness were unattractive and not smiling. This leaves only smiling ugly guys at the bottom of the spectrum and grumpy hot guys at the top, making it look like being grumpy makes you hot.
II. OkCupid had far too little data to draw conclusions
Building on the previous point, there’s the question of how many pictures of men not smiling and not making eye contact were in the data set to begin with.
Giving OkCupid the benefit of the doubt, let’s say their sample was 50/50 male and female (even though it would likelier have skewed female). 7,140 photos is only about 3,570 per gender.
Is Okcupid A Safe Dating Site
This is a good sample if you’re measuring a condition that will be present in all of the photos. But the number of men who were not smiling and looking away (especially in early 2010, before OkCupid advised it) would be in the hundreds at most. Even today, less than 15% of photos have no eye contact. Before OkCupid declared it superior, it was likely 5-10% (200-300 photos split into 3 groups: smiling/not/flirty).
We know for certain that OkCupid knowingly made claims based on too little data because they had approximately 7 photos of male “flirty face” with no eye contact and they still drew conclusions about its effectiveness.
Not to mention, the metric they were using to gauge a male dater’s profile effectiveness (“women met per attempt”) is a wildly varying and unbounded metric; one guy with a particularly interesting photo that gets one unsolicited message per day could have easily made their whole result.
III. OkCupid had a biased population sample
Trends change. In data science, we know it can be difficult to find consistent trends even between visitors of the same website from one week to the next.
Is it likely that trends found among a very specific niche of male daters long ago — those who chose to upload only one photo and no profile text to OkCupid in 2009 — could translate to a viable Tinder strategy for all men in 2017?
The truth is that societal and dating norms have changed a lot in this amount of time. For instance, dating online used to be taboo. So perhaps giving an air of “I’m too good for this” with a non-smiling, looking away photo and no profile text appealed slightly more to women at the time.
Is Okcupid A Good App
Further, what kind of man uploads one photo and no profile text? Perhaps it’s this personality type (not the photo’s characteristics out of context) that speak to which photo strategies worked best for him.
IV. The OkCupid study itself spawned a new class of bad photos
Finally, let’s chat for a moment about what happens when a highly popular dating site disseminates misinformation about what works best in guy’s dating pics: a new class of male dating photos is born.
We hypothesize that the publicity of OkCupid’s results gave rise to a new type of dating photo within which the subject is purposefully avoiding smiling and eye contact, in which the subject seems to be awkwardly looking in another direction for no apparent reason. Internally, we labeled these photos as “avoidant” because they tend to come across to strangers as if the subject is too timid to make eye contact.
Fact is, these avoidant photos just didn’t exist before the 2010 OkCupid study. Before this advice was made popular by OkCupid, the only instances of not smiling and not making eye contact were at least somewhat contextually relevant. After: not so much.
Conclusions
OKCupid’s study on male dating photos did not pass the reproducibility test in 2017.
Our data suggests that there is no one-size-fits-all photo strategy for all men. Rather, it’s important to determine what’s appropriate and natural in context, and to consider what characteristics you individually have to offer a mate.
Truthfully, even if a particular photo strategy showed a slight difference in average effectiveness, the individual photos score all over the map.
That’s because certain strategies may work better for certain people or in certain contexts. If you want to know what works: try it, test it.
Photofeeler is a tool for testing profile pics, as seen in Time, Forbes, The Today Show, and more. Know for certain how you’re coming across in your dating pictures. It’s free to use here.
If you’ve dated online for any amount time, or even just have stable internet access, you’ve probably heard of OkCupid. At 14 years of age, the company is one of the older online dating services available and boasts a large membership. Unlike other apps and services on the market, OkCupid is all inclusive and isn’t targeted at a specific subset of the dating population, so the odds of your type of people being on the app are pretty good. And OkCupid claims that because of their matching algorithm, the odds of you finding that person in the millions of profiles on the service aren’t bad either.
This step-by-step guide will help you build an attractive OkCupid profile and teach you the ins and outs of the dating app, so you can find what you’re looking for. Let’s get started!
Step 1: Set up your account.
OkCupid is available on both mobile and desktop, so you have a little bit of flexibility on how you want to play. Go ahead and download the app on your mobile device or go to okcupid.com to get started. Like most other online dating services, you have the option to link your Facebook or sign up with an email address. Select either option to move forward.
After signing up, OkCupid will ask for some basic information including your gender (there are lots of options!), your gender of interest (lots of options here too!), your birthday, zip code, ideal relationship length, and a few other basic tidbits.
When you finish up with these, you’ll be able to customize your profile and start getting noticed.
Step 2: Pick your photos, write your bio.
Like most other apps, OkCupid has six photo slots and a short little bio section. There are enough tips to write an article for each, so I’ll spare the nitty gritty points and keep this portion more big picture.
For the photos, you’re going to want to make sure that you have six photos, and most, if not all, should prominently feature you smiling. The first photo should be a headshot in an interesting location like a forest, arcade or well-lit bar. Make sure to include at least one to two full-body shots. Keep the sunglasses and group photos to a minimum.
Photos are also a good opportunity to show off your hobbies and interests. If you’re into active sports of any kind (hiking, skateboarding, skydiving) this is a good way to share it. Active shots can give your profile an extra layer of personality that will help other daters find common ground and get a feel for you.
As for the bio, keep it short and sweet. Four or five sentences should do it. If you’re funny, this is a good place to crack a joke or two. If you’re not, that’s OK. Just write a bit about yourself, your passions, your hobbies, and anything else you think people might want to know. Use a bit of personal flare and keep it honest. The key here is to make readers feel like they’re meeting you for a casual chat.
Once you’re finished with the initial profile setup, you’ll have the option to answer additional prompts to spice up your profile. Look at these as fun bio supplements to touch on anything your bio might not have covered. It’s recommended to fill at least a few of these out.
Step 3: Answer the questions.
If you’ve made it this far, you’re in the final stretch! The last step to completing your profile are the basic questions. Each profile on OkCupid displays an estimated compatibility rate. These percentages are based on your answers to these questions, so be as thorough as possible. The basic questionnaire is 15 questions long and ranges from topics like politics to the tidiness of your room to the length of your last relationship. For each question, there’s an option to skip and there are options to select an answer preference for the person you’re interested in too.
If you’re doubting the accuracy of a compatibility rate calculated from 15 questions, that’s fair. Once the initial account setup is complete, you can answer more questions from your profile settings to increase the supposed accuracy of your match percentage. (And OkCupid will often ask you to answer more.) I’ve answered over 100 questions personally and new ones keep showing up in my profile section, so don’t worry about any shortage of these.
Step 4: Send out your likes.
I’ll say it again: you can answer more questions and fill out more profile prompts once you finish the initial account setup. OkCupid recommends completing as many of these as possible to maximize your matches. Once that’s done, you can go ahead and start liking other daters and see who you match with.
Like most other apps, OkCupid’s runs on a mutual-like system, meaning two singles have to like each other before they can talk. (Or you can pay to see who likes you before you match.) There are also two different ways to go through matches. Using OkCupid’s DoubleTake format, you can swipe left or right like Tinder or Bumble for a breezy, low-investment level matching experience.
Alternatively, you can browse matches by scrolling through multiple profiles. In this option, you can open profiles and like and comment on specific prompts to reach out directly with a message. Even though the other person will only see your message if they like you first, this may be a better way to get noticed and can make you stand out from other daters who just like every person in their queue.
Step 5: It’s a match!
Once you get your first match, go ahead and start chatting. If the conversation goes well, don’t hesitate to ask your match on a date and see where it goes.
If you’re having trouble making matches, try answering a few more questions and tweaking the different profile elements to find a formula that works for you. OkCupid also keeps a list of all of the profiles you’ve liked in the past, so you can always go back and send messages after the initial like if they’ve liked you back. Don’t be afraid to ask your friends what they think of your profile for feedback. Soon, you’ll be on your way.
Step 6: Should you buy?
As always, the paid subscription route is a totally viable way to increase your chances at success if you choose to take it. Just keep in mind there are no limits to messaging or liking in the free version like on other similar services.
So, if you choose to go for the subscription, what are you getting yourself into? First, there are two different types of subscriptions: A-List Basic and A-List Premium. The A-List Basic let’s you access a list of daters who like you, use advanced search filters, search based on profile attractiveness, access message read receipts, and remove ads. The pricing plans begin at $9.95 for one month, $7,95 per month for three months, or $4.95 per month for six months.
A-List Premium offers all the same perks as the basic subscription with the addition of a daily Autoboost, which boosts you to the top of the match queue, increased attractiveness, which allows you to see and be seen by more attractive matches, the ability to see other profiles’ answers, and increased message priority. A Premium A-List subscription runs at $24.90 for one month, $22.90 per month for three months, and $19.90 per month for six months.
Well, that’s it. You’re now officially a master of OkCupid, one of the the most popular online dating sites. All that’s left is for you to get in there and start firing off those likes. Let Cupid do the rest.
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