HowAboutWe

• Quick Profile Setup
• Easy and Smooth Layout
• Free Subscriber Option
• Encourages Those to Spend Less Time Online
• Date Idea Inspiration
• LGBT Friendly
• Tonight Feature

Quick Profile Setup

When initially navigating to the homepage, users can easily get started by inputting their gender and what they are looking for. When signing up for the service, members can fill out as much personal information as they choose like religious preference, favorite drink, height measurement, education level and more. Users then fill in their ideal date and then immediately after can browse date inspiration. HowAboutWe provides a lot of ways for users to provide personal information so it can best find potentials matches. HowAboutWe even asks fun and easy questions like:

• What is your ideal Sunday?
• What is your life history in five sentences or less?
• What was your first concert?
• What would you bring to show and tell?

Easy and Smooth Layout

The site is easy to navigate with a clean and modern layout. Users can check "The Pool" to view ideal dates listed on other people's profiles. HowAboutWe creates a pool of users by location and gender preference. From there, members can review each profile's picture and decide to choose the heart icon for "like," or the "X" icon for "pass." Once the user has swiped through all of the options for the current pool, they can click the "Connections" tab to go back and re-review the options in their pool. If the user didn't like anyone in their pool they can go to the "Search" option and customize the search by type of ideal date, exercise level, political preference, smoking level and more.

Free Subscriber Option

According to HowAboutWe, as a free subscriber, users can:

• Post dates
• Browse dates and people
• Receive recommended dates
• Fill out your profile
• Check out other profiles
• Browse trending date ideas
• Say "I'm intrigued"

Encourages Those to Spend Less Time Online

HowAboutWe wants people to spend more time out in the real world and less time in front of a screen. The dating service believes that the real connections are made organically in person on an actual date. The website wants to act as the platform for members to find others, but then encourages the two to meet face to face. HowAboutWe is less about the trivial physical details like eye and color, but instead about characteristics that illustrate one's personality and interests. People can scroll through profiles and pick people based on their idea of a perfect first date. So while there are no compatibility or personality quizzes, users can connect with others based on their ideal date activity. When two people decide to go on a date, they already have common ground from mutually selecting the first meeting place.

Date Idea Inspiration

Editors are always happy to provide fun ideas for date inspiration. Once two people have hit it off from the first date, there is an extension of the website for couples who still want to explore fun date ideas. Not only that, but users can enter into HowAboutWe's speed date type function- similar to Tinder's method of selecting matches. In this function, users can browse an infinite number of profiles. If users find a profile and date idea they like, they can swipe right. Alternatively, they can swipe left if they would rather pass. It is important for users to submit their ideal date idea, because HowAboutWe uses these to match profiles up with similar date activity interests.

LGBT Friendly

HowAboutWe is completely same-sex friendly and has equal opportunities for both heterosexuals and homosexuals. Gender preference can be selected at the beginning, and changed anytime within the service.

Tonight Feature

This feature of HowAboutWe boasts allowing users to be set up with a date in less than 5 minutes. TONIGHT is an on demand service for people who want to go on a date that very night. HowAboutWe gives TONIGHT users a selection of profiles with similar interests and location, that they can then swipe through to choose matches. The pool include profiles users have liked in the past, as well as some new matches HowAboutWe selects. Once users have made their selections, HowAboutWe chooses a mutual match by 10pm and the date night is set!

• Upgrading Isn't Free
• Messaging Isn't Free
• No Verified Identity
• Consistent Low Ratings

Upgrading Isn't Free

While it is free to sign up for a HowAboutWe profile, a lot of features are very limited for free profile users. HowAboutWe is intended to be a paid service and even when first creating a profile, users are encouraged to upgrade. Users have the option of upgrading to either a basic or premium subscription through the HowAboutWe website. Pricing for a Basic Subscription:

• $5 per month for a 12-month membership
• $6 per month for a 6-month subscription
• $7 per month for a 3-month subscription

Pricing for a Premium Subscription:

• $6 per month for a 12-month membership
• $8 per month for a 6-month subscription
• $9 per month for a 3-month subscription

Both Basic and Premium upgrades include the following features:

• Send unlimited messages to any user
• Receive and read unlimited messages
• Read new messages right in your email
• See when your messages have been read
• View visitors in your profile
• Receive priority customer service
• Turn off billing renewal to avoid unwanted payments

Only the Premium upgrade includes the following features:

• Get featured more, resulting in more views than other users
• Browsing anonymously
• The ability to change one's username anytime
• Experience the site without ads

Messaging Isn't Free

Without upgrading, users cannot use HowAboutWe's messaging system. So if a user receives a message, they are unable to respond without first upgrading their account There is no way to tell which users have a paid or free subscription. Members claim it is hard to know if their message will be received since free users cannot read messages. HowAboutWe claims that by costing money it creates an environment where people are more serious about finding a match. Not only that, but HowAboutWe suggests it is a way to weed out the "sketchy folks."

No Verified Identity

HowAboutWe really encourages meeting in person. So much that there is an option to go out that night with the TONIGHT feature. There is always a risk of meeting in person spontaneously without knowing a lot of information about the other person. There is no verification process to completely make sure users are who they say they are. Users are not background checked. People have no way of determining who has a clean record. Some members claim they are unsure which profile photos are real and which are fake.

Consistent Low Ratings

Across the board, reviews on the site and app are generally more negative than positive. Many users are unhappy about how problems are handled. Customer service is notoriously bad, and users are often unable to receive refunds. The app is criticized for being buggy, hard to use and unhelpful. Most app users don't have upgraded subscriptions and cannot access a lot of HowAboutWe's features. It is constantly associated with being a waste of time.