Project: Slider
Dating App, Team Project
A dating app that matches people through shared interests and hobbies, holding back photos until after a match is made. Built with a 9-person team covering development, UI/UX, business planning, and compliance, treating the app as a full product rather than just a coding exercise.
Demo video showing the onboarding flow, swipe matching, and messaging in the Slider app.
Project Log
Slider set out to fix a specific problem with apps like Tinder and Bumble: profiles are judged on photos in the first second, before personality gets a look in. Slider matches people on shared interests and hobbies first, and only reveals photos once a match has been made, aiming for more meaningful connections instead of pure swipe volume.
This was a 9-person team project spanning three parts: the app itself, the business case behind it (market research, pricing, and financial projections), and GDPR/data protection compliance. My role focused on backend development and UI layout implementation, working alongside another developer to keep the app smooth and easy to use.
Tech Stack:
- React Native: Cross-platform development for iOS and Android
- JavaScript: App logic and functionality
- Firebase: Authentication, Firestore database, and Cloud Storage
Highlights:
- Ran market research comparing Tinder, Bumble, and Match.com to work out where Slider should sit, and used that to justify holding photos back until a match
- Designed a three-tier subscription model (Slider, Slider+, Slider Premium) covering 10 separate premium features
- Built a 12-month financial forecast covering downloads, subscriptions, and advertising income, projecting profitability from month 3 onward
- Wrote GDPR-compliant data handling, including photo-based verification for safeguarding, held for 30 days and then deleted
Key Contributions:
- Developed the entire backend and implemented most of the UI layouts
- Implemented secure, hashed and salted password storage and login handling
- Optimised database queries and structured Firestore data for performance
- Handled media upload and retrieval with Firebase Cloud Storage
- Worked closely with the design team to keep the UX aligned with project goals
Business Model & Market Research
Alongside the app itself, the team built out a full business case: who the app is for, how it makes money, and what that looks like over the first year.
3
Subscription Tiers
Slider, Slider+, and Slider Premium, covering 10 distinct premium features
3
Ad Revenue Streams
Message & newsletter, in-feed video, and poster advertising, each sold on a CPM basis
~£377k
Projected Year 1 Profit
After tax, based on projected downloads, subscription uptake, and advertising income
This was a business simulation set by the university module, not a real financial outcome. We were given a starting budget and timeline, along with market stats to reference throughout, and worked out these projections ourselves from that brief.
Gallery
Select below to expand.
Key Features
Personality-First Matching
Photos stay hidden until both people have matched, so the first impression is based on interests and hobbies rather than looks.
Tiered Subscriptions
Free, Plus, and Premium tiers unlock features like unlimited likes, seeing who liked you, and monthly profile boosts.
Secure Accounts
Passwords are hashed and salted, with a "remember me" token system so users stay logged in securely between sessions.
GDPR-Compliant Safeguarding
Verification photos are held for 30 days for safeguarding purposes and then deleted, with full support for account deletion and data erasure.
Smart Filters
Users can filter potential matches by gender, orientation, age range, and distance to narrow down who they see.
Cross-Platform Reach
Built with React Native from a single codebase, so the same app runs natively on both iOS and Android.
Testing & Evaluation
The app was tested against a full requirements-based test plan, then re-tested after fixes in a regression pass.
95%
Must-Have Requirements Delivered
Core account, matching, messaging, and safety requirements passed testing
70%+
Should-Have Requirements Delivered
Secondary features like filters and account verification largely in place
iOS & Android
Platform Coverage
Confirmed working on both platforms from the same React Native codebase
Location-based matching and in-app subscription payments were the two main gaps left for future work rather than shipped in this version. On the team side, the biggest lesson was around meeting cadence: frequent in-person meetings worked well early on but became less useful once everyone knew their role, and the team agreed shorter, more frequent check-ins would have worked better later in the project.