Description

Clips is a video only platform built to help people make real connections. I built Clips to be a safe, authentic space, free from the scammers, bots, and fake profiles that plague traditional dating apps because I believe meaningful relationships start with honesty, not algorithms designed to keep you swiping.

This app is built from the ground up. Going from idea to deployment, I first designed the app interface using Figma in order to visualize the user interface and user experience. The app itself is a full-stack application, boasting a full node.js backend running on an Amazon AWS EC2 instance using an NGINX reverse proxy for security, an S3 bucket for file storage, Amazon's SES (Simple Email Service) for password resets functionality, and full authentication and authorization flow via JWT (JSON Web Tokens). Clips also boasts a full chat feature that allows users who match via the matching algorithm to communicate with each other. The chat feature was built using websockets for real-time communication between clients. The push-notifications system sends notifications to users when they have received a like, match, or message and was built with Google's Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) and Apples's Push Notifications Services (APNS), allowing the server to determine how to route the push notification dependent on a user's device model and operating system. Lastly, the front end is served to the user via React Native as a cross platform application that runs on both Android and iOS devices seamlessly and allows users to post, like and chat their way into a possible loving relationship.

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Case study

Because dating app case studies reveal common challenges such as user frustration with superficial interactions, fake accounts, a desire for more authentic connections, and the struggle to move beyond "game" or time-filler use, I decided to build Clips in order to "un-gamify" the match making process found on all modern dating apps.

Instead of keeping users plugged into the app, my focus is to get users meeting and dating in real life. The first step was to remove the superficial aspect of all dating apps which tend to be more like social media platforms where users only post heavily edited pictures of themselves. I managed to accomplish this by focusing on a "Personality First" design and a video only platform where users can be seen and heard as soon as they post. While photos can be heavily manipulated, videos are harder to fake thus creating a more personal interaction with a potential match. By going this route, I also addressed the second most common pain point in modern dating apps which is the fake account. While other dating apps are riddled with fake robot accounts or scammers uploading fake profiles using attractive photos trying to prey on unsuspecting victims looking for love, my app removes that attack vector because we don't allow for any manipulation of the video file you post to your profile via my U.P.R.U.F (Unaltered, Personally, Recorded, Unique, File) system, meaning you are instantly verified as soon as you post.

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