A CHRISTIAN dating mobile application, SALT, was launched in South Africa on Tuesday.
The app aims to become the most popular way for Christians to meet, date and marry.
The app was launched in the UK in 2018, and according to SALT, the UK is where it has become the highest-rated and most downloaded Christian dating app, enabling relationships and marriages for Christians of all ages.
SALT is free of charge to download. To join, a user must create a profile, meet people, match and chat, with the option to upgrade to premium for additional features.
“User safety and privacy is paramount, with individuals only being able to receive messages from people they have chosen to match with,” the company said.
The app is available on Android and iOS.
SALT co-founder Paul Rider said the stigma of online dating has largely fallen away: “Online dating was traditionally seen as a less romantic way of meeting people, or for people who can’t meet anyone in real life. But with the growth of mobile phones and the usage of apps increasing, data shows that 40% of people now meet online. I think it has become the new norm, and Covid-19 has only accelerated this process.
“Traditional dating can be difficult and pressurised for Christians, and it is a challenge to meet Christians beyond your church community. With many churches limiting attendance at services or moving online, interaction has become even more difficult. Connection is needed, and we've seen this in the pre-registrations for SALT in South Africa. We've had thousands of people sign up and use the app in the last couple of weeks," he said.
In a statement, the company said SALT successfully launched in Germany and Australia earlier this year, and Rider is particularly excited about launching the app in South Africa.
“Having been born and grown up in South Africa, it was always going to be a priority market for me. We feel that SALT has a big opportunity to help Christians in South Africa meet, match, build relationships and get married.”
Rider met his wife through online dating, and he said that is when he saw the need for an improved app that matched people of faith.
“Working for a mobile app business at the time I met my wife online, I could see mobile use growing at a fast rate, but I felt there were several problems with the dating solutions that existed for Christians. A lot seemed very out of date, old-fashioned and just not relevant. The products were not mobile-first, and price points tended to be very expensive; we hoped that SALT could change a lot of this and make a difference for Christians around the world,” he said.
TECH