With the widespread popularity of smartphones among the young, it was inevitable that smartphone applications (apps) for young couples would become a new trend. Despite the limited market size, here are several apps that have vied to win over tech-savvy couples who would like to take their relationship to their phones.

 

 

To start off, for those of you who are single and are having difficulties getting involved in the dating scene, you might want to try any of the following matchmaking apps: I-um, Chatting Train, or Coffing. Apps like I-um require in-app purchase of app currency for users to access additional services like initiating chats with strangers or seeing how previous dates rated you. The developers of many apps have purposely manipulated the ratio of male to female users to prevent flooding of male users. These apps help create connections between two random users if they have both expressed interest in the other, signifying a “match.”

 

These sorts of apps have met mixed reviews about their efficacy since the motivation and seriousness of users will vary. The developers still have problems finding a balance between keeping the exclusivity of the app and ensuring its popularity.

 

 

A new trend among couples in Korea has been to download the free app Between to create a complete record of the relationship. This app boasts innovative services for couples that have not yet been addressed by mainstream social networking services (SNS) like KakaoTalk or Facebook. The main feature of this app is that all of the contents are shared between the couple exclusively. Most convenient is the shared photo album, enabling couples to not only share photos but also to organize them by date. A shared calendar helps the couple record and access past and future dates (in Korean dating culture where every 100 days of dating is a cause for celebration, a calendar is especially helpful for the forgetful!)

 

By allowing couples to remove their relationship tracks from public posts on sites like Facebook, Between allows couples to share access to a private journal filled with intimate memories.

 

 

Suitable either for new, shy couples or for couples that might be transitioning out of the honeymoon phase, Mr. & Mrs. is a mission app with up to 1,000 different missions as part of its “bucket list” for couples. Intended to push couples to engage in activities together, Mr. & Mrs. might be a fun option for couples trying to keep their romance alive.

 

Its key feature is the flexibility of the missions - some tasks can be done individually as a secret mission for one’s significant other, while other tasks can be completed together as a couple. This allows different couples to pursue missions that might be most suitable for them.

 

Both members of the relationship might find it economical to use an app to monitor a joint bank account, instead of having to worry about who pays what each time the couple goes on a date or buys something. It saves couples the hassle of remembering who paid last and how much each person has paid by conveniently settling the bill on the spot with the shared card. How much each person contributes to the joint account is, of course, at the discretion of the couple. Since most college students do not have to worry about sharing electric or housing bills, most payments will happen on dates and should not be a complicated process. If the relationship has been steady for some time, this would be a recommended convenience for college couples.