Making Friends App Development – A Complete Guide

Making friends can be difficult, especially in this technology world. We may not have as much time to socialise as we used to, and we may find it harder to connect with people who share our interests. Data from Bumble suggests that 66% of Gen Z respondents (people born in the late 1990s through the early 2000s) shared that they made friends online and 41% felt scared to approach strangers in person. This is where making friends apps come in.

Making friends apps are becoming increasingly popular, as more and more people turn to online platforms to meet new people. If you are thinking about building a making friends app, this post is for you.

In this guide, we will cover everything you need to know about a making friends app, from its definition, developing steps, key features, budget to monetisation strategies. Let’s check it and prepare to join the market.

1. Introduction to Making Friends App 

1.1. What is a Making Friends App?

Simply, a making friends app is where people connect with others and make new friends all over the world, regardless of locations, languages and time zones.

The app uses a matching algorithm to connect users with others who share common interests and values, then you can send hello messages and start your making friend journey. If you find yourself making friends hard, these apps can be an easier way for you.

1.2. Making Friends App Market Overview

A 2021 Australian report identified millennials and Gen Z as the loneliest generations, with 54% of Gen Z respondents admitting they regularly experience feelings of loneliness. This percentage was significantly higher than that of older generations, highlighting a growing social disconnect among younger demographics. Loneliness not only affects mental well-being but also has tangible physical consequences, including increased stress levels, higher risks of depression, and even long-term health issues such as heart disease. However, research shows that strong friendships and social connections can help mitigate these negative effects, driving a growing demand for digital solutions that facilitate meaningful social interactions.

The COVID-19 pandemic further exacerbated social isolation, making it even harder for people to form new friendships in traditional, in-person settings. David Siegel, CEO of Meetup, described this period as “a perfect storm of reasons why there is a great demand for friendships today,” as lockdowns, remote work, and social distancing severely limited organic social interactions. This shift in social dynamics accelerated the rise of “making friends” apps, platforms designed to help users find like-minded companions and build meaningful relationships online before transitioning to real-life connections.

The friend-making app market is currently led by a few dominant players, including Bumble BFF, Hey! VINA, and Meetup, but it is also attracting a wave of new startups introducing innovative features to enhance social discovery. Bumble launched its Bumble BFF feature in 2016, and since its introduction, the platform has observed a 16% increase in time spent on the app, reflecting the growing interest in digital friendship-building. Investors, recognizing the potential of technology-driven socialization, have poured substantial funding into these ventures. Notable examples include Hey! VINA, which secured $1.4 million in investment, Peanut, which raised $17 million, and Yubo, which has accumulated a staggering $65.7 million in funding. Collectively, these platforms have attracted over $84 million in investments, signaling a strong belief in the future of technology-driven friendship solutions.

As loneliness continues to be a pressing issue, particularly among younger generations, the friend-making app market is poised for significant expansion, with companies continuously refining their algorithms and user experiences to foster authentic and lasting social connections.

1.3. Top 6 Famous Making Friends Apps

Bumble BFF

Bumble BFF is a dating app that has a dedicated BFF mode for people who are looking to make new friends. It works similarly to the dating feature, where users can swipe right on people they are interested in and swipe left on people they are not interested in. If two users swipe right on each other, they are matched and can start chatting.

Hey! VINA

Hey! VINA is a making friend app that is designed specifically for women. It allows users to connect with other women who share their interests, values, and lifestyle. Hey! VINA also offers a variety of features to help women build friendships, such as group chats, events, and icebreakers.

Meetup

Meetup is a making friend app that helps people to find and RSVP to events in their area. There are Meetup groups for all sorts of interests, from hiking and biking to book clubs and movie nights. Meetup is a great way to meet new people and make friends who share your interests.

Peanut

Peanut is a making friend app for moms. It allows moms to connect with other moms who are in similar stages of motherhood. Peanut also offers a variety of features to help moms support each other, such as group chats, advice, and resources.

Ablo

Ablo is a making friend app that lets you connect, discover, and have conversations with users from around the world with a real-time translation for text as well as video chats. 

Yubo

Yubo is a making friend app for teens. It allows teens to connect with other teens who share their interests. Yubo also offers a variety of features to help teens make friends, such as group chats, live streams, and games.

Read more: Top 20+ Making Friends Apps To Meet New People

2. Why Creating Making Friends App is so Helpful?

In an increasingly digital world, making friends organically has become more challenging, especially for individuals who have relocated to new cities, work remotely, or struggle with social anxiety. This is where “Making Friends” apps come in, providing an innovative solution to help people connect with like-minded individuals and build meaningful relationships. These apps offer several key benefits, including:

1. Improved Mental Health

Numerous psychological studies highlight the profound impact of strong social connections on mental well-being. Having meaningful friendships has been linked to lower rates of depression and anxiety. Engaging with others through a friendship app can help reduce feelings of loneliness, increase emotional support, and promote a more positive outlook on life.

2. Reduced Stress & Enhanced Well-Being

Human connection has been shown to lower stress levels by reducing cortisol, the hormone responsible for stress. Whether it’s engaging in casual conversations, sharing personal experiences, or finding emotional support, friendships foster relaxation and resilience against daily stressors, contributing to overall mental and physical well-being.

3. Increased Happiness & Life Satisfaction

Friendships contribute significantly to overall happiness. Studies suggest that people with strong social ties tend to feel more fulfilled, experience greater life satisfaction, and even live longer. Making Friends apps help bridge the gap between people seeking companionship, ultimately fostering more joyful and enriched lives.

4. Stronger Sense of Belonging & Emotional Support

A sense of belonging is a fundamental human need. Friendships provide emotional security and a support system during both good and challenging times. Whether someone is navigating a difficult life transition, facing personal struggles, or simply seeking companionship, having a supportive network of friends can make a world of difference.

5. Exposure to New Experiences & Opportunities

Friendships often introduce people to new perspectives, activities, and even career opportunities. Through Making Friends apps, users can connect with individuals who share their interests, engage in exciting experiences, and expand their social and professional networks. These interactions can lead to personal growth, skill development, and new adventures.

By fostering connections that may not have otherwise been possible, Making Friends apps serve as a powerful tool for enhancing social well-being, reducing loneliness, and enriching lives in meaningful ways.

Read more: Top 11 Most Popular Social Media Apps

3. Steps of creating a Friend Making App?

Step 1: Research and Plan

One of the most important things you need to do when starting to develop an educational app is to thoroughly understand the market and your target users. After collecting a proper amount of data, you can start to analyse them to have an insight of your market. 

Who are you building this app for? What are their needs and wants? What are their interests? Once you understand your target audience, you can start to design an app that meets their needs.

Step 2: Identify core features

What features are essential to your app? What features will make your app stand out from the competition? Some common features of friends making apps include user profiles, matching algorithms, messaging, group chats, voice and video calls, and events. You need to work with the development team to understand what you are trying to make and stay involved throughout the entire process. 

Step 3: Design user interface (UI) and user experience (UX)

The UI is the first thing users will see, so it’s important to make sure it’s attractive and easy to use. On top of that, the UX should be smooth and seamless to make your app accessible for everyone.

Step 4: Develop 

You can either develop your app yourself or hire a mobile app development company. Your choice depends on your budget, project types and demand. However, whether you choose to build an internal team or outsource, building an MVP can ensure low development costs and effort. This could help you define how many users accept your app idea before investing more money into scaling your app.

Step 5: Test 

Once your app is developed, it is important to test it thoroughly to ensure that it is bug-free and works as expected. 

You can follow testing methods below:

• UI/UX Testing: evaluate components’ interactivity with customers
• Functionality Testing: determine whether the product meets the specified requirements
• Regression Testing: check if modification breaks the website’s overall flow
• Compatibility Testing: check the software’s functionality utilising an operating system, an app, mobile devices and a network environment.

Step 6: Launch 

Once you are satisfied with your app, release it to the public. You can launch it on the App Store and Google Play.

Step 7: Maintain and update

After deployment, remember to regularly maintain and update your app to ensure it remains secure, stable and up-to-date with the latest technologies and user needs. Updating the app will help you to keep users engaged and satisfied..

4. Key features of Friends Making App 

User profiles

Users should be able to create profiles that include information about themselves, such as their interests, hobbies, and location. This information will help the app to match users with those who share their interests.

Matching algorithms

The app should use a matching algorithm to connect users with other users who share their interests and values. This algorithm should take into account a variety of factors, such as the user’s profile information, their location, and their activity on the app.

Messaging

One of must-have features is chatting, users should be able to send and receive messages to others on the app. This is the primary way that users will communicate with each other and start to build friendships.

Voice and video calls

Accepting users to make voice and video calls to others on the app is a great way for users to interact virtually with others and to build deeper friendships.

Search Option

Users can search for people with some common features to them, based on some filters like locations, hobbies, interests. The search option will help them to find the most appropriate people quickly and easily.

Push Notifications

The app should send notifications to users about upcoming events, updates, and clearly, messages from their online friends. This will help them to stay informed and updated.

Feedback

The app should allow customers to provide feedback on the app and also report people who have any suspicious or inappropriate behaviour to the app moderator. It is important to ensure the safety and security of all users of the app. 

Group chats

Another great way for users to meet new people and make friends with multiple people at once is joining group chats. Users should be able to join group chats where people with the same interests gather, but the development team needs to add some questions before approving anyone to join the group. 

5. Tech stack

• Front-end development: ReactJS, Angular 
• Back-end development: Node.js, Phyton, PHP
• Mobile development:  iOS – Swift, Android – Java, Cross-platform – Flutter, React Native
• Web development: Javascript, HTML, CSS, Vue.js, React.js
• Databases: Firebase, MySQL, MongoDB, 
• Multiple payment modes:  PayPal, Braintree, Stripe
• SMS, Phone Verification, Voice: Twilio, Nexmo
• Email management: Mandrill
• Push notifications: Twilio, Push.io
• In-app messaging and calling: Twilio
• Cloud environment: Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google, Microsoft Azure.

6. How Much Does It Cost to Develop and Maintain a Making Friends App?

The cost and time of developing a Making Friends App will depend on many factors like:

• Tech stack
• Platform choices (iOS, Android, website…)
• Functionality
• Design
• Team size
• Hourly rates
• Developer’s qualifications

We’ll look at the educational app development cost by location of the development team, it varies from $40,000 to $150,000. It can be seen that choosing a dedicated team from South Asia would help you reduce a lot in building your telemedicine app.

Source: GoodFirm

Regarding development time, if your educational app does not require any specific UI and functionalities, it would take around 2-3 months. But if you need a more complex and challenging app, the time your team should spend will be 4-6 months.

If you don’t have an in-house development team, partnering with a vendor is the best and most cost-efficient option for you. By finding vendors from other countries with a lower cost of living, you can also save money and repurpose them for other business expenses like marketing activities.

7. How Does a Making Friends App Make Money?

To sustain and grow, a Making Friends App needs a solid monetization strategy. There are several effective ways to generate revenue, depending on the app’s target audience, engagement levels, and business model. Below are some of the most common and successful monetization methods:

1. In-App Advertising

One of the most widely used monetization strategies is in-app advertising, where businesses pay to display ads within the app. These can take the form of:

• Banner Ads: Static ads that appear at the top or bottom of the screen.
• Interstitial Ads: Full-screen ads that appear between user actions, such as when navigating between sections of the app.
• Video Ads: Short video clips that users can watch to unlock certain features or benefits.

App developers typically earn revenue based on cost-per-click (CPC) or cost-per-impression (CPM) models, meaning they get paid when users either interact with or view the ads. This method is particularly effective for apps with a large, active user base.

2. Subscription Plans & Premium Memberships

Many social networking and friend-making apps offer tiered subscription models, allowing users to pay for enhanced features and a more personalized experience. These premium memberships often include:

• Unlimited messaging (instead of daily limits for free users).
• Profile boosting to increase visibility and attract more matches.
• Access to exclusive filters to refine friend searches based on interests, location, or personality traits.
• Ability to see who viewed or liked your profile, providing better chances of connecting with like-minded individuals.

Subscription models can be offered on a monthly, quarterly, or yearly basis, generating a steady stream of recurring revenue. Examples of successful implementations include Bumble BFF and Meetup, both of which offer premium memberships.

3. Selling Virtual Goods & Digital Gifts

Another profitable approach is selling virtual items, which users can purchase and send to their friends or connections. These include:

• Digital stickers & emojis for enhancing conversations.
• Virtual gifts, such as animated hearts, flowers, or custom avatars.
• Special profile themes or badges that allow users to personalize their profiles.

This strategy leverages microtransactions, where users spend small amounts of money frequently, leading to significant cumulative revenue over time.

4. Paid Event & Community Access

Some apps, particularly those focused on real-world meetups and social gatherings, charge users for access to exclusive events, clubs, or networking opportunities. These may include:

• Premium group memberships for niche interests or hobbies.
• Tickets for local or virtual events organized through the app.
• Exclusive social circles where users can connect with high-profile professionals or influencers.

This model works well for platforms like Meetup, where users pay to attend events and access special interest groups.

5. Affiliate Marketing & Partnerships

Friend-making apps can also generate revenue through affiliate partnerships with brands and businesses. This can include:

• Referring users to related services, such as dating apps, personal development courses, or social clubs.
• Promoting local businesses, such as cafés, coworking spaces, or fitness clubs where users can meet in person.
• Partnering with lifestyle brands that align with the app’s mission (e.g., self-care, mental wellness, or personal growth).

By integrating sponsored content or referral links, apps can earn commissions for each user that engages with a partner service.

Conclusion

Since the COVID-19 pandemic happened, the making friends app industry has set to bloom, and it is still expected to continue to grow after the end of the pandemic. This is due to a number of factors, including the increasing urbanisation of the global population, the rising number of single people, and the growing popularity of online dating and relationships.

If you are a business or startup that is thinking about building a making friends app, there are a number of things you need to consider. Moreover, if you are considering hiring a software outsourcing company, I recommend that you choose AgileTech. We have a team of experienced and skilled developers who can help you to build a successful making friends app. Maybe your product will be outstanding in the friendship app industry.