Zoosk is a dating site like none other. This high-tech online dating situation is all based on an algorithm that READS YOUR MIND! Kidding, obviously, the algorithm can’t read your mind, but it does keep track of everything you’re doing on the site in order to work out who your best matches are. Sign up here if this sounds like something you’d like to try.
This may all sound a little sus, but don’t worry, Zoosk was not only part-funded and built by a former NASA scientist but it has also been matching up couples for 13 long years. That’s since before apps. And they even have a whole blog full of success stories – Zoosk users who are now engaged. It’s honestly pretty impressive.
But as with all dating sites and apps, Zoosk has its own quirks. And beyond that, it’s fair enough to tell everyone you have 40 million users in 80 countries using the site in 25 languages (Zoosk has all those things)… but how many of those users are actually regularly online and active?
There’s no point throwing messages at a dark computer screen, is there?
Zoosk’s solution to all this is ‘Recently Online’ while many other sites use ‘Last Active’.
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So, What’s This Recently Online Thing?
Zoosk has a couple of ways to tell you whether or not your match (or whoever owns the profile you’re looking at) has been online lately. Recently online means that someone has been online within the last 7 days.
Currently, active means a current login, though not necessarily current activity. Someone could be online – could have logged in earlier in the day, say – but not actually be browsing. So don’t freak out if they don’t message back right away!
A lot of other dating sites include a ‘last online’ date, which will tell you when another user was the last clicking about your dating site of choice. Arguably, this would be a solid addition to Zoosk but their current system is both cleaner and easier if you’re just glancing at your phone while using the app – a real nod towards the importance of apps these days and the prevalence of mobile users on Zoosk.
What Do The Green Dots On Zoosk Mean?
On Zoosk, it’s all about the dots. A green dot means that a user you’re looking at is online right now, and so is likely to be around for immediate interaction. Plus, it means they’re still in the game. Still looking for love. Still a potential ‘the one’ for you.
However, a green dot doesn’t mean the user has actually been clicking around all day. They recently signed in, sure, but they could just be signed in on an app they haven’t opened for a few hours.
Don’t worry if they aren’t immediately all up in your profile as soon as you’ve said hi! A blue dot means that someone has been active within the past seven days. This isn’t limited to signing on, rather it means that the user has been actively using Zoosk within the past week.
Obviously, having been online in the past week makes someone more likely to be online again soon and that’s something you want out of your matches!
Why Should I Care?
Recently online might seem like something that doesn’t matter much, but actually, it’s important. I mean who wants to waste time sending messages to users who aren’t actually using the site?
I mean, plenty of people either make a profile they never use or else they find love but their profile still exists. Although, it’s not like you can totally delete your Zoosk profile anyway. How many ghost accounts are there in your name? I know I’ve got plenty!
If someone has been active within the past seven days you know that Zoosk is still a part of their life and that if you message them then whatever happens – a message back or a (frankly rude) silence is real. Otherwise, you may just be posting letters to nowhere!
The green dot, meaning currently online, is potentially even more important. I say this a lot, but who has time for games and sending out a million messages to potential matches? The best way to find a partner is to get chatting asap, and move it IRL as soon as you can.
Relationships that are solely online often end up going nowhere, and relationships you try to start with people who are never online are even less successful! Plus, if you go on holiday or get absolutely sick of dating or have a lovely time with someone for a few months during which you don’t use Zoosk, then it’ll look like you’ve disappeared.
You’ll probably want to come online and click, swipe, and like for a while before you try to get the attention of anyone you’re really interested in just in case the blue and green dots matter to them!
Why Zoosk, Though?
Of course, after all of this, you’ll also want to know why Zoosk is the place you should be looking for love. The fact is, Zoosk has been absolutely smashing it since 2003 and remains the most financially successful dating app available on iOS.
It’s a site for everyone, from Gen-X to Gen-Z, as long as you’re looking for a connection, Zoosk is the place to go. You can learn more about it in my in-depth review here.
I’m not a Zoosk representative! It just happens to bridge the gaps between old-school ‘profiles’ dating to basically a more serious Tinder. The Recently Online feature, with its lights system, is just one way that Zoosk has modernized a sort of old-fashioned dating site trope. Try it for yourself here.
Of course, if you spy on someone PERFECT who hasn’t been online in a while, don’t hold back. I mean, even with dating sites coming out of our ears, finding a real match is unusual! Pounce on them when you find them. Not literally, obviously. Luckily, online that’s impossible.
