For singles in China under pressure to get married, there are plenty of professional match makers, and busybody parents. But for young people seeking to avoid such interference, there is now a bevy of smartphone apps offering a less formal approach.
Momo, the most popular of China’s mobile dating services, uses a phone’s GPS to help users find the profiles and photos of people nearby that they can talk to online, or offline. It has added 30m registered users since July – giving it 80m.
“Everyone uses it just for fun, not taking it too seriously,” said one man who asked not to be named. “We are too young to get married, too young. Maybe some girls’ parents want them to get married so early, but my friends haven’t.”