If a couple photos and a few lines of text aren’t enough information to gauge someone’s potential as a romantic prospect, we have good news for you. Or rather, Badoo does. The world’s largest dating network, which boasts 300 million users in more than 190 countries, just announced the addition of video to its online dating profiles because, as the company says, “attraction isn’t two-dimensional.”
Badoo hopes that the addition of this slightly more interactive tool will allow users to better understand the proverbial fish in the sea, or at the very least, present a more complete picture of themselves. The company notes that videos will allow their daters to “determine the unique personality traits, interests, and skills of potential matches.” And, of course, it could also cut down on the occurrence of “catfishing,” or misrepresenting oneself online.
Videos will be no longer than 15 seconds long, and will be captured directly by way of an iOS or Android camera. And don’t think that you’ll be able to get away with any risky business — to keep this video content PG, Badoo says that all content will be assessed by one of the app’s 5,000 moderators.
Hopefully, these videos will allow for users to give others a more organic glimpse of themselves and their personalities. After all, Badoo notes, there are certain traits that simply can’t be conveyed by photos, but might be better captured by a short video.
Badoo spokeswoman Joey Hadfield said in a statement, “With the addition of video, daters can get creative and show off their sense of humor, their wonderfully sophisticated British accent, tennis skills, or even their twerking skills. When you go on a date, you know within seconds if you like a person’s energy, and if you don’t, you’re still stuck there all night. Video gives you a much better feel for who people are before you agree to meet them.”
