Zoosk - Review

Zook is a very well established player in the UK and remains one of the most well used dating services on the web. It is the no1 destination for hooking up with local people and, unlike many of its casual dating rivals, also has good form as a more serious matchmaker as well. This is largely down to its unique behavioural matching system and an interface that not only allows for very superficial browsing and 'likeing' but also provides more profile detail and matching algorithms for those who want it. It's a winning combination that has ensured the continued growth of the Zoosk enterprise and earns it the top place on dating-experts recommendations list.
 
Zoosk is the online dating company that learns about you as you browse. Its ‘behavioural matchmaking engine’ takes note of your preferences as you go, recording who you take an interest in and sending you more matches of a similar nature. The platform has a social media style layout and is a great place for people to flirt and chat, whether or not they are looking for a serious relationship.
 
The way that Zoosk matches means that it is very easy to sign up for the service. No lengthy registration questionnaire to fill in. All you need to do is tell them some very basic information, give them an e-mail address and you’re in. Even more simply, you can sign in with Facebook or google+. The system then learns about you as you browse. The behavioural matching system notes your preferences and tweeks your results accordingly.
 
Zoosk has great desktop and mobile platforms. Dating-experts especially likes the Desktop format which allows you to very quickly set up a full profile, using Facebook pictures and makes browsing, likeing and messaging your matches super easy. For example, there are a series of short cut keys that enable you to flick through pictures and like and dislike profiles in seconds. Zoosk's mobile interface is also good, but its this desktop functionality that gives it a core USP over chief rival, Tinder.
 
A relatively new feature that Zoosk have introduced, is photo verification. Here members can have their photos badged ‘Photo Verified’ and ensure that everybody knows the photo is real. How do they do this? Simply by getting customers to take a short video of themselves. These videos are then checked against the profile pictures submitted. It’s a simple but effective way to improve security online.
 
The easy registration and no-fuss matching system also makes the site very suitable for mobile use and a large and growing proportion of Zoosk business is done on mobile devices. In fact Zoosk claims to be the no1 dating app downloaded in the apple store (also available on Android).
 
Special features include ‘the Carousel’ where you can like or dislike a series of new profile photos every day, ‘Mega flirt’ and 'SmartPick'.
'Mega flirt' allows you to mass message your matches without having to go through all that copy pasting. – And why not, everybody does it anyway!
'SmartPick' is the core matching offer from Zoosk. It sends you one suitable match per day and offers you the chance to 'connect' with each other.
 
Zoosk started life in 2007 as a facebook app. A clear sign of intent and one that it has more or less stuck too, becoming one of the most successful dating sites to ‘piggy-back’ on the social media trend. US based, it quickly made its services available around the world. Today the site is translated into 25 languages and is available in 80 countries.
 
Zoosk looks best on the mobile devices it has been designed for and the PC interface has perhaps not received so much attention recently. Still the site is easy to navigate and pleasant enough to browse with. One big advantage of having so many customers joining though facebook and other social media is that most profiles have several different photos.
 
You can do quite a lot for free on Zoosk, including sending a first message to anyone who catches your eye. However, if you want to take it further then subscription will be necessary. Prices are not high, ranging between £12 and £23 depending on how long you sign up for.
 
Any subscription with Zoosk will automatically renew unless you cancel it in good time.
 
Customer Service Support is via email template only.