Three-quarters of Czechs use dating apps: these are the most popular, says a new poll

The coronavirus complicated numerous areas of modern life, particularly dating which, like everything else, went digital due to the Covid pandemic. But just how many budding romances relied on apps is the subject of a new global survey conducted by Kasperksy.

The survey, which incorporated data from 500 respondents from the Czech Republic revealed some interesting stats about Czech online dating habits vs. the rest of the world during Covid, including which apps Czechs prefer and whether a positive test or vaccination status was a deal-breaker for potential mates.

The survey found that Czechs' interest in online dating increased significantly during coronavirus. While 75 percent of people in the Czech Republic have now used online dating apps, three years ago it was 16 percentage points less. 

Birgitt Hölzel, a German therapist associated with the study said, "Dating apps have made it possible to connect with new people during the pandemic. Virtually. A physical encounter is something else entirely. It’s about body language, smell, and touch. Only when these components come together can we really decide how we feel about that person. That’s why it’s a normal reaction for dating app users to play it safe – by insisting on meeting only those who take their need for security and safety seriously."

While the rest of the world was playing it safe with video calls, however, 29 percent of Czechs were more likely to opt for in-person dates, the largest percentage of any country involved in the poll (compared to 14 percent global average).

Dating-app users from the Czech Republic most often met with one or two potential partners per month. At the same time, many Czechs weren't so concerned with whether their new counterpart had completed vaccinations or negative tests; just one in five Czechs said these were factors in whether or not they'd hook up, while globally the number remains over 40 percent.

In terms of which apps Czechs are using to hook up, the most popular dating app among those polled was the Badoo application, with 54 percent of Czechs who have ever used dating apps logging in. Tinder was the next most popular (45 percent), followed by Seznamka.cz (32 percent), while 23 percent tried to find a partner via Instagram, Amateri.cz – a racy photo/video sharing platform – (17 percent), and eDarling (15 percent).

The data presented in the report is based on surveys commissioned by Kaspersky and conducted by Sapio Research in June 2021 among 18,658 people in the UK, US, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, UAE, Turkey, Egypt, South Africa, China, Japan, India, Australia, Indonesia, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Russia, Colombia, Chile, Peru, Austria, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, and Hungary. Their sample includes adults of all ages and sexual orientations.

According to Kaspersky experts, the increase in online dating also carries added elements of risk: not only general disappointment and heartbreak but also more sinister elements like blackmail, catfishing, hacking, or the theft of personal data, which is later used for online coercion. While 65% of all respondents feared such scams as a result of using the apps, 15% reported they’d already been scammed.

One of the biggest takeaways of the study was that people aren't just using dating apps for dating: the top-cited reason for using a dating app was to "meet and interact with new people" (48%), with 33% of people saying they use dating apps to simply make friends.