By Appverse
Report updated Mar 27, 2026
Wave - Friends, Dating & Chat
For young adults and social media users looking to expand their social circles and find new friends or dating prospects through a secure, verified platform.
Wave - Friends, Dating & Chat is a struggling social networking app that is free with in-app purchases. With a 4.4/5 rating from 18.7K reviews, it struggles with user retention. Users particularly appreciate social connection, though unfair account bans remains a common concern.
What is Wave - Friends, Dating & Chat?
Current Momentum
v4.5
- Fixed a bug where users would sometimes get logged out of the app.
Competition
Rivals identification in progress
7-Day Rank Pulse 🇺🇸
Social NetworkingNo ranking data
Rating Pulse 🇺🇸
Recent User MoodAI-powered deep analysis surfacing high-signal insights. Still in beta, accuracy improves daily. For informational purposes only.
What makes this app unique?
What Does It Look Like?
How Is The App's Momentum Right Now?
Loading...
What Are The Key Features?
Allows users to link and share profiles from Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter after mutual approval.
Send disappearing text, photo, and 10-second video messages that can only be viewed once.
Automatic account suspension for users who attempt to screenshot chats or record the screen.
Uses built-in camera and machine learning to verify user photos, with an option to filter for verified users only.
Find and connect with new friends based on proximity or global search.
Direct messaging interface for matches to communicate within the app.
How much does it cost?
- Free tier with standard swiping and chat functionality
- VIP Subscription for unlimited gems and boosted profile views
Monetization relies on a freemium model that gates visibility and engagement tools behind a VIP subscription, while maintaining a free entry point.
Who Built It?
Facilitating social discovery and dating for young adults through location-aware matching and ephemeral messaging. Wave provides a secure environment for users to connect and transition interactions to external social platforms.
Portfolio
1
Apps
Who is Appverse?
Wave operates as a niche social discovery tool that bridges the gap between anonymous swiping and established social media profiles. Their structural advantage lies in the 'reveal' mechanic, which prioritizes user privacy and safety as a primary feature rather than an afterthought. The platform faces a significant challenge in user retention, as the core value proposition encourages users to move their social interactions off-platform to other networks, creating a natural churn incentive that is difficult to mitigate.
Who is Appverse for?
- Young adults
- Social media users seeking to expand their social circles or find dating prospects
Portfolio momentum
With zero releases in the last 6 months and a single app in the portfolio, the publisher is currently in a maintenance phase.
What do users think recently?
High confidence · 51 reviews analyzed · Based on 51 reviews. Signal may be noisy.
How did the latest release land?
What is the recent mood?
Recent user voice shows a upset sentiment. Users appreciate social connection, but report unfair account bans and age verification & sign-up issues.
What Users Love
What Frustrates Users
What is the competitive landscape for Wave - Friends, Dating & Chat?
How's The Social Networking Market?
Market outlook for this category
Available very soon
The outtake for Wave - Friends, Dating & Chat
Strengths to defend, gaps to attack
Core Strengths
- Strong focus on user safety through AI-verified photo technology.
- Unique integration of ephemeral messaging with strict screenshot protection.
- High volume of ratings suggests a large, established user base.
Critical Frictions
- Opaque and overly aggressive automated banning policies causing high churn.
- Critical bugs in the sign-up flow preventing new user acquisition.
- Disconnect between marketing (safety) and user experience (bots/NSFW content).
Growth Levers
- Capitalize on the demand for 'verified-only' social spaces by fixing current verification bugs.
- Improve transparency in the moderation process to rebuild user trust.
- Enhance bot detection algorithms to align with the 'authentic connections' brand promise.
Market Threats
- Established dating/social giants (Tinder, Bumble) adopting similar verification features.
- Negative reviews impacting App Store conversion rates and organic growth.
- Potential for users to migrate to more stable, less restrictive platforms.
Key Takeaways
Wave - Friends, Dating & Chat is a struggling social networking app that is free with in-app purchases. With a 4.4/5 rating from 18.7K reviews, it struggles with user retention. Users particularly appreciate social connection, though unfair account bans remains a common concern.
Where Is It Heading?
Declining
Wave has expanded its market positioning to include dating and is facing increased operational friction due to technical bugs in the onboarding process.