Developer(s) Huggle App Limited Development status Active Website huggle.com | Initial release March 2015 (2015-03) Type Social Networking | |
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Huggle is a location-based social application which connects users based on commonality of places they frequent. Users can only message each other if they have at least one place in common.
Contents
History
Huggle was created by its two female co-founders, Valerie Stark and Stina Sanders. and backed by Andrey Andreev, a Russian entrepreneur who founded the Social Networking application Badoo and backed social and dating application Bumble
Huggle was officially launched on 16 June, 2016 at Bumpkin restaurant in Chelsea, London.
How it works
Huggle uses Facebook, Foursquare, and Instagram to build a user profile with photos, basic information and a list of favourite places. New places automatically add to this list when the user visits them in real life. This list can be edited at any time, and users can delete places or make them private.
Features
Features include the ability to like other users' profiles, chat and send photos. Huggle released a "visitors" feature in 2016 that allows users to see people who view their profile.
Safety
One of the main Huggle safety features is a one-minute photo verification. Users can also be verified by their phone number, Gmail account, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn. Huggle uses hyper-local technology to avoid fake check-ins. To check-in at a certain location, users have to be physically present at the place. A user's list of favourite places is never shared. A person's location is only visible when both users go to that place. Users can decide how many places they want to have in common with other users to enable them to message.
Places, not faces
Valerie Stark and Stina Sanders co-founded Huggle after becoming disenchanted with their experiences on dating and social apps. They are speaking against appearance matching and want to promote positive and respectful interaction on-line. In her interview with Bustle, Stark said, “In a society that tries to eradicate bullying, physical shaming, racial, and cultural differences, it’s crazy that people still judge others by their appearance when looking for a relationship or friendship. Your looks do not say anything about who you are as a person; your lifestyle and interests do. You’re more likely to get along with someone who has similar interests to you than someone who you are just attracted to." A survey conducted by Huggle has shown that dating apps which match people solely on appearance have a negative impact on people's self-esteem. The issue of social expectations on-line is a topic that gained media attention in the past few years. Huggle is the first application in the social and dating space that has offered an alternative solution to appearance matching logic.