Wave is a social discovery app for iOS that uses swipe-based matching and ephemeral chat to help users find local friends.
Product velocity
Dormant
Daily rank 🇺🇸
—
Social Networking
Sentiment
4.4
19k reviews
Nemesis
Tinder Dating App: Date & Chat
The App DNA
What makes this app unique?
Users hire Wave for low-pressure social discovery that avoids the dating-heavy baggage of incumbents, using verified selfies to ensure authenticity.
For Individuals seeking to meet new people locally or globally through social media profile linking and ephemeral chat.
What does it look like?
Key features
Machine learning camera verification ensures users are real by requiring a selfie upload.
System-level detection blocks chat access during screen recording and suspends accounts for screenshot attempts.
Paid tier providing unlimited gems and boosted profile views.
How much does it cost?
Freemium model gates visibility and interaction volume behind a VIP subscription, while maintaining a free tier for discovery.
Velocity
Dormant developmentperformanceShow more...
Development has ceased, with no new feature builds or updates released in the last 505 days. The app's single recorded update in the analyzed window was limited to a minor stability fix for login issues. Given the lack of activity for over a year, the project currently shows no signs of active maintenance or development.
Who built it?
User Sentiment
What do users think recently?
Review voice lately leans upset. Users appreciate social connection features allow users to find and build friendships through the core matching loop, but report aggressive account bans and lack of appeal processes prevent users from accessing their profiles.
How are ratings & reviews evolving?
What users say, by theme
- Social connection features allow users to find and build friendships through the core matching loop
- Aggressive account bans and lack of appeal processes prevent users from accessing their profiles
94 of 150 recent reviews analyzed · high confidence · Upset overall
Read the full review analysisUnlock 2 more frustration themes and 1 user request, each backed by review evidence.
Access the full report for freeCompetition
Competitive landscape for Wave - Friends, Dating & Chat
How's the Social Networking market?
Wave holds a #86 Free position in the Social Networking category in Bulgaria, with a #92 Free rank in Ireland. The lack of updates over the last 16 months suggests a stagnant market position that relies on legacy discovery loops rather than active growth.
Read the market outlookThe rivals identified
By Tinder LLC
Tinder is the primary market incumbent for swipe-based social discovery, directly competing with Wave's core mechanic of swiping to find local friends.
- Global brand recognition and massive user base create a significant network effect advantage over Wave.
- Advanced monetization features like Passport and Priority Likes offer deeper engagement than Wave's basic social linking.
- Users report Tinder's aggressive monetization and subscription-gated features can feel like a deceptive bait-and-switch tactic [1].
Senior Next Dating AppContender
Renz - Make New FriendsContender
SayHi Chat - Meet New PeopleContender
Cheri: Flirt & ChatContenderUnlock the head-to-head verdict: where this rival wins, and where it loses.
Access the full report for freeThe Analyst's Read
Key takeaways for Wave - Friends, Dating & Chat
Where is it heading?
The proximity-based social discovery market is consolidating around apps with active moderation and frequent feature updates. Wave's lack of development leaves it exposed to churn, and without a fix for the registration failure, the app will continue to lose ground to competitors.
- The 16-month update silence indicates the app is in maintenance mode, which prevents it from competing with active rivals like Renz.
- Broken registration flows in the latest version block new user acquisition, which will accelerate the decline of the active user base.
The SWOT
- Verified selfie authentication filters bot-heavy spam
- Screenshot protection enforces ephemeral chat privacy
- Implement 24/7 manual moderation to improve safety
- Refine age-gating to resolve sign-up flow friction
Next best moves
Rebuild account-creation flow because sign-up button failure is the #1 acquisition blocker → restore new-user conversion
+ 1 more prioritized moveThe counter-intuitive read
Wave's 16-month silence is not just neglect…
Read the full takeFeature gaps
24/7 manual moderation (available in Cheri and Meete but missing here) +1
Since the last report: The app remains in a maintenance-only state, but the report now includes specific regional chart rankings and a refined competitive threat assessment.
Bottom line
Wave offers a privacy-centric social discovery loop, but its 16-month maintenance-mode status and broken registration flow destroy the funnel, so the PM must prioritize fixing the sign-up button before attempting any monetization experiments.
Unlock 3 critical frictions, 2 market threats, 1 more prioritized move and the analyst’s take.
Access the full report for freeSources
- [1] App Store, source
Report last updated