Online dating apps witness new users signing up almost every day. These dating apps help people find someone with whom they might want to spend their lifetime. Dating apps have people signing in from different parts of the world. It helps people their significant other from either the same city or their own area. Although many do tend to add filters to their pictures, none of them can hide their identity for long. But even then, these dating apps seem to be booming, allowing everyone to meet someone they have a chance of spending their life with. Inclov seems to have broken down barriers by introducing a dating app for disabled people.
The troubles that disabled people go through, to meet someone, is understandable. According to the 2011 census of India, over 40 percent of the total 26.8 million disabled people don’t get married. They face more trouble in finding someone online because not many like to sign up on such sites, feeling nervous. Disabled people find it difficult to maintain online relationships in India due to the social stigmas.
Meet the Founders of the dating app for disabled peeple.
Shankar Srinivasan and Kalyani Khona are the brains behind the new online dating app, Inclov, for the disabled. Inclov is world’s first match-making app for disabled people. Kalyani Khona, the founder of Inclov, said, “I was disheartened by the general attitude of people in matrimonial portals towards those with physical impairment or disability,”
The app makes use of algorithms that are able to test how dependent the person is. Kalyani Khona stated, “Our algorithm matches on the basis of someone’s level of dependence, cure availability, medications and therapy for their disabilities.” “It took us five months to develop the app and conduct multiple testing to ensure 100% accessibility — color themes for people with color blindness, talkback integration for people with visual impairment, and font size options for people with retina disorder,” she added.
What about it?
The app is available on the Play Store. To create an account one has to go through verification and review process after which they can begin to socialise. The app also provides a messenger app for the users in order to keep their private details safe. “We have a chat messenger in the app so that users don’t have to disclose their personal details such as phone number and email ID. We have also disabled screenshot option in our app for cybercrime prevention.”
Inclov!
Wait… There’s more!
And now, after a year, Inclov came up with an offline platform which goes by the name ‘Social Spaces’. Disabled people and otherwise can make use of this platform. Khona said that they intend on starting meetups at different cities to make people and places more sensitive towards the disabled. “While Inclov was doing well online, we noticed that very few app users were actually meeting in person as most of the cafes and restaurant are not disabled-friendly — they don’t have wheelchair ramps and Braille menus, and staff are usually insensitive,” states Kalyani. “We have also launched nightlife meetups for them to party their hearts out,” she added.
Since its launch in 2016, it has seen around 19,000 people registered. In a recent study carried out, the app has helped around 6,000 differently-abled people find their spouses in India. The app was also crowd-funded by $9,000. This dating app for disabled people seems to have hit it in the right spot. It is inclusive of people from all walks of life. The app is sure to see more users.