Grow your dating app without losing match quality

Who should be on a dating app's agency shortlist?

Results on these pages are the firms' own claims.

Questions to ask any agency:

1. Will you report match and first-conversation rates by city and seeking pair, or only blended CPI?
2. How do you hold back spend in markets where one side is already oversupplied?
3. Do you have Meta's written permission process for dating ads in hand, and a TikTok sales contact?
4. Which people in your ads are real members, models or AI, and how is that disclosed?

What do Meta and TikTok require for dating ads?

Confirm current rules before every launch.

The branded-content row matters: a dating app can be cleared to buy TikTok ads and still be barred from paying TikTok creators to post. Neither TikTok page mentions Spark Ads. Kiko's rule for dating on TikTok: creator-style video runs as an ad from your own account, not as a Spark Ad on a creator's post.

Claims such as "verified profiles" or "real singles near you" need support. If an ad presents people as members, the FTC's Endorsement Guides expect them to be real members or the ad to say otherwise (16 CFR 255.2), and the FTC's 2024 rule bans fake testimonials, including AI-generated ones (FTC). Kiko's policy on under-18 audiences: every dating ad targets 18+ on every platform, we cast only adult creators and models who clearly read as over 21, and we drop any creator whose audience data shows more than 15% under 18.

Why can a cheaper install cost more? (worked example)

A dating app is two-sided and local. Users on the oversupplied side of a city are often cheaper to buy and much less likely to match. The worked example below shows how the funnel changes acquisition cost.

Cost per first conversation = CPI ÷ (profile-complete rate × 7-day mutual-match rate × conversation rate)

The cheaper install costs nearly twice as much per conversation. It also lowers match rates for everyone already on that side. Kiko's pooled dating figures, across 5 programs run from 2024 to 2026: cost per first conversation between $14 and $38.

Decision table: what to do with each market cell

Decision table: which event to optimize to

Always report quality metrics by market cell. Each new creative concept gets $500–$1,000 or 7 days, whichever comes first, before we kill or scale it. Our activation work covers the first-session steps.

What are dating apps running on Meta right now? (ad-library census)

The examples below compare November 2026 US creative from 2 large dating apps and 6 niche or new apps. Each ad links to the Meta Ad Library.

Snapshot: active US Meta ads, November 2026

The Meta library showed about 8,600 active US ads for the exact phrase "dating app" (keyword matches, not advertisers).

What the 8 ads have in common:

What the snapshot shows:

1. Established apps sold the outcome, not the supply: dates and relationships off the app.
2. Smaller apps sold local supply. "Singles in your town" and "free" were the most repeated lines, and these ads had run longest, a median of 271 days, one for over a year. Supply claims naming one gender can mislead if the market behind them is thin.
3. Niche identity is a clear angle. An app for introverts led with who it is for.
4. Quality language is rare. One app promised more conversations and actual dates, which mirrors the events this page recommends.
5. No creator or couple stories appeared in this query, which leaves room for creator-led creative.

When don't you need an agency?

If your team already reports match and conversation rates by city and steers spend weekly, you may only need more creative supply, which a creator platform or freelancers can provide. For creator supply, see dating app creators and paid amplification. These three creators are where we would start for Meta partnership ads and YouTube:

Frequently asked questions

Which paid social agencies work with dating apps?

Agencies with public dating cases include Carson+Doyle (Tinder), ONE Agency (Badoo) and Admiral Media (FET). Kiko is another option. Ask each for a dating case reported by market, not only by installs.

Do I need permission to run dating ads on Facebook and Instagram?

Yes. Meta's advertising policies allow dating ads only with prior written permission, and the ads must follow Meta's dating targeting requirements and guidelines.

Can dating apps advertise on TikTok?

In most markets, yes, with conditions: 18+ targeting, a TikTok sales representative, an app store or website landing page, and no suggestive content. TikTok's separate Branded Content Policy lists dating apps as a prohibited industry for paid creator posts.

What should a dating app optimize ads for?

Mutual matches or first conversations, once those events reach 50 a week per campaign. In our worked example, the cheaper install cost nearly twice as much per first conversation.

Why does gender balance matter for dating app ads?

Matches happen inside local markets. Adding users to the side that is already oversupplied lowers match rates for that side and can raise churn, so steer spend toward the short side of each city.