What We Learned From Building The PreVue Dating App

At NS804, we love developing apps like PreVue that positively impact users. PreVue is a dating app that breaks the mold of what users have come to expect from online dating and modern dating applications. Nowadays, popular options include the likes of Bumble, OkCupid, Tinder, and many others. And while these have revolutionized modern dating by allowing users to meet those outside of their ethnic backgrounds, social circles, and even geographic locations — they’ve also introduced a lot of problems. 

The founder & CEO of PreVue — Lucanus J. Grady — briefly described these problems in his mission statement: “Dating app profiles had become just this fabrication to attract a quantity of candidates like it was a game. And it’s just hard, right? So I just kept thinking, there must be a better way! How do we filter out all the nonsense, cut through the heavily-doctored pictures, the wordy biographies, and just the genuine lack of honesty?”

Grady’s assessment regarding the current state of the modern dating app holds true, and there’s a real need for a fresh approach. Fortunately, Grady did approach things differently when formulating PreVue, a video-based dating platform. With PreVue, users take a short 22-second video without filters, showing off their true selves. The nuances in their facial expressions and mannerisms provide a far more authentic picture of who they are than edited photos, biographies, or text messages. 

We helped bring PreVue to life and feel privileged to have worked closely with Grady on his innovative dating app concept. Our partnership on this exciting project has been a relatively smooth process. However, we did learn several important lessons that we’ll discuss in greater detail below.

 

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Modern Dating In Crisis

Now, you may think that there are already too many dating apps flooding the marketplace — and that’s true. But have you asked yourself if these apps help or hinder users from dating successfully? And if you’ve been out of the dating pool for a while now, you may be shocked to learn that the modern dating scene isn’t very healthy, to put it lightly.

While apps such as Tinder make it incredibly easy for users to find matches in their area, that doesn’t mean these are quality matches. If anything, Tinder and many similar dating apps facilitate hook-up culture, where sexual encounters are at the forefront, and long-lasting relationships come last. Gen Z and Millenials in the younger age range may only be looking for short-term relationships or ‘situationships.’ And that’s perfectly fine for some but completely wrong for those wanting deep and meaningful relationships. 

Furthermore, things don’t look rosy for most American men under 30 who remain single. According to a study by the Pew Research Center, approximately 63% of men in this age bracket find themselves single compared to 34% of women. And if that wasn’t bad enough, fewer single American men are looking to date now than before the Covid pandemic (42% now versus 49% in 2019).

Things get worse still, as an overabundance of online pornography and OnlyFans models grab male attention and interest at a disturbingly high rate. And while we hope this trend will change at some point, it’s definitely an ominous sign that we can’t afford to ignore. From a societal and economic standpoint, it isn’t good if young men forgo dating and relationships, as this will lead to a demographic decline in the foreseeable future. 

How Does PreVue Solve Notable Problems?

The best and most successful apps solve problems that users often encounter. And as we’ve already covered in significant detail, modern dating is in crisis mode with plenty of problems. Moreover, the creator of PreVue, Lucanus J. Grady, has experienced the pain points of modern dating apps firsthand. With most dating apps, it’s too easy for users to enhance their looks via filters and present a false self through their biographies. 

And that’s why he set out to offer an alternative that allows users to date with intention, where they can see, hear, and get the vibe from a potential candidate before taking things further. Thus, it’s difficult for users on the PreVue platform to present themselves inauthentically, as the short form 22-second videos are great at conveying subtle changes in facial expressions and voices that accurately reveal the candidate’s appearance, emotions, and desirability. 

But another reason why video is such a powerful medium is that it’s become the number one way to distribute and consume content today. Platforms such as Instagram and TikTok have carved a path for creating and sharing short-form videos effectively, and it’s time that dating apps catch up! 

How Does PreVue Work? 

PreVue offers users a dead simple onboarding process that’s as frictionless as possible. This dating app only requires the most applicable information from the user, their location, and their dating preferences. Then, it’s time to film the 22-second-long video with no filters or uploads permitted. Once done, the user may access the portal with all candidates that match their criteria. Furthermore, PreVue will match users based on what they said and even the backgrounds in their videos. 

PreVue officially launched in Boston, MA, due to the city’s vibrant and ethnically diverse culture. This works well, as dating with intention is something that the people of Boston want in a dating app. And it’s a great success thus far, with over 7,000 downloads and 1,200 active users over the past two months. 

While it’s still early days, users have responded positively to PreVue. Many are happy with how much more natural matches feel compared to other dating apps in the marketplace. It’s also easier for users to initiate conversations due to how PreVue manages profiles, and there’s a refreshing lack of spam accounts and creepy users. 

And similarly to other dating apps in the marketplace, there’s a free version of PreVue available. However, users can opt for in-app purchases, such as PreVue Premier 1 Month at $19.99, Unlimited Connections 24h at $6.99, and Video Chat 1h at $2.99. 

What Surprised Us About The Target Demographic Of PreVue?

PreVue successfully eradicated issues commonly found in other dating apps, such as catfishing. And so far, it seems that users are having more meaningful interactions in PreVue than with other alternatives, which was one of the primary goals of this project all along.

However, we initially anticipated that college users between the ages of 20 and 25 would make up our target audience. But we resonated more with the young professional demographic instead.

At first, this was surprising, but it makes sense since younger professionals are more likely to seek long-term partners for fulfilling relationships. And PreVue’s video-based approach facilitates the pursuit of these types of relationships, as users can easily screen out the chancers, players, and other disingenuous candidates.

 

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What Was The Development Process Like? 

The development process went smoothly, but we could have benefited from an entirely Agile approach. In hindsight, it would have been better if we released smaller feature sets since we’re now making changes on the fly based on user data and feedback we’ve obtained. 

That’s why at NS804, we always recommend that our clients scale back on their concepts to get their apps to market quicker. Users will always reveal what they want, and we can always pivot quickly based on user feedback. 

However, we did proceed with simple and clean code that was modular and flexible from the early stages of the project. If there’s one thing that every developer should know is that planning proper architecture saves a ton of time.  

Our development team includes four members, two founders, a marketing team, and a public relations (PR) team. While the development team may seem small, it’s actually the right size for this project and managed to complete it successfully. The build process took 12 months, which included a very long BETA to ensure we gathered enough feedback to launch the best product possible. But without the BETA and the additional scope, it would have taken around eight months. 

Which Programming Languages Did We Use During Development? 

NS804 is fundamentally a native mobile app developer. That means we use programming languages, frameworks, tools, and APIs for creating native apps for Android and iOS. We could choose hybrid mobile app development tools like Flutter or React Native to reduce development time and cost. However, that would result in lower-quality apps lacking the native look, feel, and performance users have come to expect. 

And given that PreVue is a dating app that must deliver video content regularly and consistently, we had to go native since performance is imperative. Thus, we chose Swift for developing the iOS version and Kotlin for the Android version.

Both Swift and Kotlin are modern, high-level, and statically typed languages that are easier to debug and maintain than the languages they’re gradually replacing, namely, Objective-C and Java. A side benefit of using Swift and Kotlin is that they integrate flawlessly with the latest user interface (UI) toolkits, such as SwiftUI and Jetpack Compose UI. And that allows us to create attractive and responsive UIs that look and feel native on a wide variety of modern mobile devices.   

We also used the Structured Query Language (SQL) for our back-end relational database. And Node.js, as it’s an efficient and powerful runtime environment for creating servers, modular applications, and even video streaming apps such as Netflix. It’s written using the JavaScript (JS) programming language, which has played a pivotal role in front-end web development.

How Crash Reporting And User Journeys Helped Us?

While we did not have any bugs reported, we did implement crash monitoring and user journeys built into the app. So we know if any issues arise before users report these to us, which allows us to take a proactive approach and fix these issues. 

The user journeys allow us to see where users may drop off during the process. And this allows us to refine and tailor our offering that will best suit end-user needs. The ultimate goal of the user journey is to determine the optimal path within the app that will enhance the user experience (UX). Ideally, users must reach their goals quickly and easily without being stumped by an unintuitive UI or other questionable design choices.

Due to our user-centric approach to design, we’ve regularly updated the UI to meet users’ needs. To date, our users benefit from a clean, slick, modern, and highly intuitive UI. And this allows them to engage with our dating app in a fun way without breaking their flow since the screen isn’t cluttered with text and any design elements that cause confusion.

What’s Next For PreVue?

PreVue has made a notable impact in a short space of time, and the future bodes well for our dating app. As we’ve already witnessed, there’s a real need for a platform that makes the dating experience much more honest and meaningful.

So, what have we got planned for PreVue moving forward? Currently, it’s only available in Boston and Washington DC. But we will open availability to new markets and expand our international footprint. Furthermore, we’ll use Machine Learning (ML) to enhance our existing matching algorithm. We started with a basic algorithm designed for maximum matches while the user base scales. 

It will be a learning experience as we use tools that improve the matching process over time. Our goal is to ensure that PreVue users will only have candidates appear in their feeds that align perfectly with what they’re looking for in potential partners. 

And speaking of partners, Lucanus J. Grady shared a few thoughts about his experience working with us: “Top Tier communication. Excellent relationship with the CEO. Always extremely knowledgeable and eager to help. Has provided assistance outside of the scope of responsibility and is an intangible member of our team. The company and its founder are now personal friends due to NS804’s core ethos and incredible professionalism.”

The Bottom Line

Working on PreVue, coupled with our close and fruitful relationship with our client, has made the development process an enjoyable and eye-opening journey. Furthermore, it’s a privilege to work with talented people that have all contributed to a dating app that conforms with our client’s visionary approach. Contact https://www.ns804.com/ today to learn how we’ll help you create phenomenal and trailblazing dating apps!  

The Best YouTube Video Downloader Apps For Mobile Phones

There are many good reasons why you’d want to track down a YouTube video downloader

Firstly, there’s content on YouTube that you’d like to store to watch later on. Secondly, if you’re a content creator, you may need to download trailers and promotional videos to edit and reupload later. And thirdly, you may need to show video snippets at a company meeting presentation. Instead of awkwardly searching YouTube to find those videos during the presentation, it’s better to have downloaded them beforehand.

But is it legal to download YouTube videos? The short answer is no unless you have permission from YouTube or the initial copyright holder of the videos. And the law is very stringent about this matter in the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union. However, you may legally download those with a creative commons license, public domain works, or copyleft videos. 

When companies release promotional videos and trailers, it’s best to visit their official websites. Here, they’ll usually make available a press kit for the media and content creators and often provide links to videos for use.

Now that we’ve got that out of the way, it’s actually possible to download YouTube videos without a dedicated downloader but with a few caveats. YouTube allows mobile users to download videos in certain countries and regions for up to 48 hours. If users want to retain these videos on their phones, they need to reconnect to a WiFi or mobile network within that 48-hour period. 

It’s hardly an ideal solution, so you’re better off finding a versatile YouTube video downloader. Therefore, we’ve listed several of the best apps in this category below.

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1. Dentex YouTube Video Downloader For Android

Developed by Samuele Rini, Dentex is available as an APK file from the developer’s GitHub site, so you’ll need to sideload it onto your device. You can also find it at APK Combo, APKPure, BestForAndroid, and Uptodown. But we recommend you download it directly from GitHub, as it’s easy to donate there if you’re happy with the downloader. 

And it’s definitely one of the better downloaders available due to its ease of use. The user interface (UI) makes it easy to search for videos, set the format and quality of the download, and view previously downloaded videos. Furthermore, it’s possible to extract audio snippets from the videos and subsequently convert these to MP3. 

However, it only supports Android 5.0 (API 21) or higher, which means those with older devices are out of luck. It’s also a little buggy, and videos won’t always download correctly or stop without warning. But its biggest letdown is that it’s unavailable for iOS — a missed opportunity!

2. iTubeGo

One thing immediately noticeable when running iTubeGo is how incredibly slick and polished it’s when compared to its counterparts. Undoubtedly, the development team behind this app has gone the extra mile to deliver a quality product. It’s free for Windows, Mac, and Android, but users can upgrade to the PRO version to unlock additional features.

Once again, there’s no iOS version, which is an oversight that the developers need to address. But what makes iTubeGo so compelling to make it in our list of best YouTube video downloader apps? 

Apart from being incredibly polished, iTubeGo also offers tons of download options. Not only can users download from YouTube but also from AudioBoom, Bandcamp, Bilibili, Coub, Dailymotion, Facebook, Instagram, Mixcloud, Niconico, TikTok, Twitter, SoundCloud, Vevo, Vimeo, VK, and more. 

Moreover, it features lossless technology that replicates the original video quality, regardless of its resolution. And it also has a 320kbps MP3 downloader, multiple format support, external SD card storage capability, batch downloading, and a smart link detection tool.

3. NewPipe

NewPipe is yet another Android-only APK download and is supported by donations. With over 6 million downloads at Uptodown, it’s a testament to its popularity and versatility. But what makes it so good when compared to other YouTube video downloaders available today?

For one, it’s incredibly lightweight at only 2 MB, making it resource-efficient. And secondly, it isn’t dependent on the Google framework or YouTube API, so it can function perfectly without Google Services. In a nutshell, it’s designed to run on any Android device (even a De-Googled phone running another operating system such as Calyx or Graphene) with privacy in mind. 

And if users need that extra layer of privacy, downloads and traffic can go through Tor (a browser renowned for its anonymous communication capabilities). Furthermore, it will run on Android TV and can seamlessly download videos or audio while having them play in the background. 

It doesn’t have any ads whatsoever, which should please most users. But since this is a one-man project, support isn’t the greatest. And the app does lack some of that polish found in commercial alternatives, so it’s not an entirely smooth experience. It’s known to suffer from occasional errors and unsuccessful downloads.

4. Snaptube YouTube Video Downloader & MP3 Converter

A common theme throughout this list is the lack of iOS YouTube video downloaders. It seems as if Android has the lion’s share of these apps, and iOS gets the crumbs. Well, that’s largely the case, and that’s due to Android being a more open system. And this allows developers the freedom to create apps that may not always be welcome in the App Store.

But iOS users shouldn’t feel disheartened as downloaders such as Snaptube more than compensate for the lack of options. While Snaptube isn’t exclusive to iOS, as it’s also available on Android, it does provide the functionality users want in a YouTube video downloader.

It’s similar to Dentax in its user-friendliness, making it a relatively simple process to search for and download videos. Also, it’s a simple process to set video quality or to choose to download the audio only. And apart from YouTube, it can also download directly from Facebook, Instagram, LiveLeak, SoundCloud, Vimeo, Vine, and many others. 

Other notable features include its dark mode, floating video player, and ability to run smoothly alongside other apps. Users can check their email or chat while Snaptube completes downloads in the background, which is incredibly handy. 

5. YMusic For Android

Music lovers who want to listen to their favorite artists found on YouTube no longer need to watch or download bandwidth-heavy videos. What YMusic does so well is play only the audio of any artist’s YouTube content. Thus, saving up to 90% of user data.

YMusic utilizes the last.fm service to quickly detect artist and album details on the fly. Then, it downloads the content as an MP3 or another format. Users can also easily customize the app’s UI and utilize its 81 color combinations. And since this app functions as a media player, it also boasts custom equalizers, gapless playback, and screen widgets.

And users that already use the YouTube app can quickly navigate to YMusic via the Share button. Overall, this is a straightforward app that makes accessing, downloading, and listening to music a breeze. 

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In Conclusion

Due to the legalities surrounding copyrighted content on YouTube, it’s not surprising that many downloaders aren’t available in the App Store or Google Play. But given Android’s open nature, many developers have made available their YouTube video downloader apps directly from their websites and various APK download sites. But we recommend you proceed with caution and only download and install APKs from trusted sources.

However, if you want to create a YouTube video downloader or a similar app that’s developed and distributed professionally, you need to partner with a reputable studio. Work with NS804, a mobile app development company with locations in Richmond, Denver, and Charlotte. Contact us today to learn how we’ll help you create phenomenal apps using leading-edge technologies!

What Do People Want In A Health And Fitness App?

The health and fitness app has become a permanent fixture in most people’s lives. And you can tell that this is true by merely observing the people around you. Nowadays, most people wear smartwatches — but that’s not surprising — considering the global smartwatch market grows consistently by 13% year-on-year

But even if someone doesn’t own a smartwatch, they certainly own a smartphone. And most decent health and fitness apps will work on both types of devices. However, smartwatches are ideally suited for tracking health and fitness due to their wearable nature.

Yet our focus of attention isn’t on which device to use. Instead, we want to uncover what people want in a health and fitness app. And how developers can respond to these wants in a competitive mobile app marketplace.

1. A Health And Fitness App Must Have Personalization Features

All good health and fitness apps have user profiles. And these are necessary as every user has unique health attributes, exercise routines, and goals, to name a few. 

Moreover, these user profiles should protect the privacy of the user, especially if they share their smartphone or smartwatch with someone else. And make it easy to access health stats and progress reports via an intuitive user interface (UI).

2. Social Media Integrations

There’s no better way for people to stay motivated than by sharing their results with others. Some may like to brag when they reach a new milestone or break a performance record, but most prefer camaraderie and support from like-minded people. 

Thus, social media integrations are absolutely essential, as they’ll allow users to easily and quickly share results on their favorite platforms. Furthermore, developers can add chat and group-based activity features to further enrich their health and fitness app.

3. Streaming And Video Sharing Capabilities

Offering a live streaming capability is an essential feature nowadays. Fitness instructors can share videos with others that use your health and fitness app, to help them practice proper exercise techniques.

However, users can also share videos of themselves with instructors and health practitioners. These experts can then examine these videos and ascertain whether or not users are following proper health and fitness procedures. And then, offer feedback and suggestions directly to users via a live chat feature.

4. Gamification Will Enhance Your Health And Fitness App

Another effective way to motivate people to reach their goals is with gamification features. By offering rewards within the health and fitness app, most users will push themselves harder to reach set milestones. 

These rewards can come in the form of prize money if it’s financially feasible. Or they can take the form of virtual prizes, such as trophies and digital reward tags. It’s also possible to penalize users when they fail to reach certain goals, by removing rewards or lowering their score associated with their progress.

In Conclusion

The more people use health and fitness apps, the more features they’ll desire and demand. But the good news is that there are many ways to evolve these kinds of apps, and even innovate on existing ideas. Contact NS804 to learn how we’ll help you develop a leading-edge health and fitness app that will help improve your users’ lives.