SmartPicks™
Zoosk sends e-mails with suggested profiles that they call ‘SmartPick™’ – although they even send these when you have barely filled in your own profile – so just how smart they can be is debatable. In the SmartPicks that we received, we couldn’t identify any basis for which the picks were made.
Unfortunately, the SmartPick system is useless to you if you don’t subscribe for a premium membership. Without one, you can’t even send a like to the users you are presented. Another marketing gimmick to push you to premium? Yes, you bet.
Carousel
Zoosk has a Carousel feature which shows you a large collection of photos of people that perhaps are in your area or in the age range you search for… and you should choose No, Maybe or Yes OR pay to send some Crushes to make you stand out. When you have turned the carousel up to 100% (we think 100 users) they promise to show you the person they think is perfect for you. The person shown was appealing for the test user… and you can send a like for free. However, to send a message you have to be premium.
The carousel was, when we tried this, full of profiles pictures that were either too perfect to be real (and/or people from far out of our region) or very unappealing users. Furthermore, you can only see one photo and the age of the user. How should we possibly know if they appeal to us?
Profile Completeness
Profile completeness is reported. You need to fill out most of the fields, a few prompts and upload at least 3 photos to get 100% completion. Many matching features seem not to work without completing the profile to 100%. This is a good feature to force users into giving more detail. Unfortunately, messages are not able to be sent unless you have a premium subscription or buy expensive message credits.
Photo Rejection – Photo Used on All Other Apps
The photos we use on our test profiles are very good and are used on all apps without any problems at all. But not Zoosk. Several photos were removed and an e-mail sent stating the photos were not within guidelines. One photo had been previously approved and was removed two weeks later only when another new photo was added.
We should mention at this point… our testing profiles are real daters – they all really want to meet someone and are just kind enough to give us feedback on the apps.
The photo rejection e-mail states:
Your photo was removed for not following Zoosk’s photo guidelines. To help your new photo go live…
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Make sure it’s clear
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Be alone in your photo
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Don’t include nudity
Obviously, our photos all meet these criteria. Many of the photos shown to us in Carousel did not.
Search
Now, Zoosk has a section and feature that they call ‘Search’. However, it is not a proper search feature at all, rather you are able to filter the card stack here. But that is all. A proper search feature on a dating site is one where you can enter criteria for your search and be presented with a large result set of all matching profiles.
Zoosk search is just card stack filtering. This is why we have not included ‘search’ as an app feature.
Conclusions
Zoosk is a popular dating app that has been around for over a decade. It has a large user base, and it offers a variety of features to help singles find love.
Pros of Zoosk
- Large user base: Zoosk has a large user base of over 40 million singles. This means that you’re likely to find people who are interested in the same things as you, no matter where you live.
- Variety of features: Zoosk offers a variety of features to help singles find love, including:
- Matching system: Zoosk uses a behavioral matchmaking system to suggest matches to users. This system takes into account your interests, likes, and dislikes to find people who are a good fit for you.
- Profile insights: Zoosk provides users with profile insights, such as how many people have viewed their profile and who has liked them. This information can help users improve their profiles and attract more matches.
- Zoosk coins: Zoosk coins are a virtual currency that can be used to purchase features, such as sending messages to matches who have not yet liked you.
Cons of Zoosk
- Limited profiles: Zoosk profiles are a bit limited. You can only add a few photos and a few short sentences about yourself. This makes it difficult to get to know someone before you start messaging them.
- No free messaging: Zoosk users need to have a premium subscription to send messages and read messages. This can be a barrier for some singles, especially those who are on a budget.
- Fake profiles: There are a few fake profiles on Zoosk. This can be a problem if you’re not careful.
Overall, Zoosk is a popular dating app with a large user base and a variety of features. However, its limited profiles and lack of free messaging can be drawbacks for some singles.
Here are some additional details about Zoosk’s features:
- Profile creation: Zoosk profiles are a bit limited. You can only add a few photos and a few short sentences about yourself. This makes it difficult to get to know someone before you start messaging them. However, Zoosk does allow you to add tags to your profile, which can give other users a better idea of your interests.
- Searching and filtering: Zoosk allows you to search for profiles by location, age, and gender. You can also filter profiles by interests and lifestyle preferences.
- Matching: Zoosk users match with each other when they both give each other a “Like.” However, only premium members can see who has Liked them.
- Messaging: Zoosk users can send messages to each other once they have matched. Messages are sent through the Zoosk app, so you don’t need to exchange phone numbers or email addresses.
- Zoosk coins: Zoosk coins are a virtual currency that can be used to purchase features, such as sending messages to matches who have not yet liked you. Zoosk coins can also be used to boost your profile, which will make it more visible to other users.
Overall, Zoosk is a popular dating app with a large user base and a variety of features. However, its limited profiles and lack of free messaging can be drawbacks for some singles.