Matrimonial Matchmaking App

Project overview

We built a matrimonial matchmaking app for a business serving a South Asian matrimonial audience. Members and their families create detailed profiles, set partner preferences, receive daily suggested matches and send interests; conversations open only when both sides accept, and verification badges show which profiles have been checked.

The engagement covered discovery, UX, the Flutter apps, a Firebase back end, subscriptions and a moderation panel. It sits within our social app development work and builds on lessons from our dating app and website project, adapted for marriage-focused users.

The client and the challenge

The client's older website worked like a classified directory. Profiles were often incomplete or fake, photos were visible to anyone, and members received unwanted messages from people who did not meet their stated preferences. Families, who are closely involved in many matches, had no proper role and often shared one login. Support staff spent much of their day handling complaints about fake profiles by email.

The new app had to feel respectful rather than like a casual dating product: no swiping, careful handling of photos, room for education, profession, family background and religious or community preferences, and strong tools against impersonation and harassment. Many members also used low-cost phones on slow mobile data.

Solution architecture & delivery

We built both apps in Flutter with image caching and lightweight screens suited to slower connections. Firebase Authentication provides phone-number sign-in, Cloud Firestore stores profiles, interests and chats, and Cloud Functions handle matching, notifications and moderation workflows.

Profiles are created step by step, with required sections for basic details, education, profession and family, and optional sections members can hide. A profile can be managed by the member or by a parent or sibling, and family managers are clearly labelled so the other side knows who they are talking to. Matching is preference-based: a scheduled function scores candidates on stated preferences in both directions, so suggestions only show people whose own criteria the member also meets. Members can mark some preferences as deal-breakers and others as flexible, which changes how strictly the matching function filters.

Photo privacy is on by default. Photos can be blurred until an interest is accepted or visible only to members the user approves, screenshots are discouraged on supported devices, and uploaded photos pass automated checks and human moderation before going live. Verification combines phone checks with an ID document review by the moderation team, after which a badge appears on the profile. Members can also choose to hide their profile from specific contacts, such as people in their own workplace.

Messaging opens only after mutual acceptance. Members can block, report and hide their profile at any time, and reports appear in the moderation panel with the conversation context needed to act. Premium subscriptions unlock features such as seeing who viewed a profile and priority placement, using the platforms' in-app purchase systems. Profile content and messages are checked for contact details and abusive language, which are held for review rather than delivered automatically. The app is available in English and the local language, including right-to-left text.

Key features we built

• Detailed profiles covering education, profession, family and preferences
• Profiles managed by members or labelled family members
• Two-way preference matching with daily suggestions
• Interest requests with chat unlocked only after mutual acceptance
• Photo blur and approval-based visibility
• Phone and ID verification with profile badges
• Block, report and hide-profile controls with a moderation panel
• Premium subscriptions through in-app purchases

How we delivered it

1. Discovery. Interviews with members, parents and the client's support staff to understand how matches are actually made and what made users uncomfortable on the old site.
2. UX and prototype. Prototypes of onboarding, family-managed profiles and photo privacy tested with both younger members and parents.
3. Build. Two-week sprints delivering the Flutter apps, Cloud Functions, verification flow and moderation panel.
4. Migration and beta. Active members from the old website invited to claim and complete their profiles, with moderators reviewing photos and verification requests before launch. Incomplete or suspicious legacy profiles were not migrated automatically.
5. Launch and support. Store release followed by matching refinements, moderation tooling and OS updates under a support agreement.

Technology choices

• Flutter — one codebase for iOS and Android with efficient image handling for photo-heavy profiles on modest devices.
• Firebase — phone authentication, real-time chat, offline caching and serverless functions for matching and moderation without managing servers.

Outcomes

• Members receive suggestions that respect preferences on both sides instead of browsing an open directory
• Families take part through clearly labelled managed profiles rather than shared logins
• Photos are private by default and visible only on the member's terms
• Verified badges help members prioritise genuine profiles
• Unwanted messages are prevented because chat requires mutual acceptance
• Moderators handle reports and verification from one panel

FAQ