How Dating Agencies Are Adopting Machine Learning Articles Big Data

Data has been at the heart of its success since eHarmony's launch 16 years ago, and is a major differentiator from newer rivals such as Tinder and Happn. Carter notes that originally users didn't even use pictures, instead creating a dating profile and filling out a 450-item questionnaire that covered every facet of their personality. Since then, they have cut these questions down to a slightly more manageable, but still fairly large, 150 and they also now allow photos, but the amount of data they have managed to accrue during this time is still tremendous, enabling them to pinpoint a significant number of features that people tend to look for in a prospective partner. For example, they found that when it comes to height there is a strong correlation when it comes to the probability of communication, with women tending to go for men taller than them and vice versa. Food preference is also important.