Home

Work

About Me

Get in Touch

Home

Work

About Me

Get in Touch

Home

Work

About Me

Get in Touch

Introducing new safety features for Coffee Meets Bagel

Enhancing trust in online dating with preventative safety features — date-sharing, real-time check-ins and discrete exits during uncomfortable situations.

Duration

1 week

Skills

User Research, Competitive Analysis, Persona Development, Journey Mapping, Idea Pitching

Link to project

View hi-fi prototype here

Context

As part of a product Hackathon challenge by Coffee Meets Bagel x Product Women, my team and I explored how we could better support female users navigate trust and safety concerns on dating platforms.

Challenge

Even in a relatively safe environment like Singapore, dating can come with emotional and physical risks. Our goal was to make female daters feel more in control and reassured, ultimately improving their overall dating experience.

Solutions

We designed two key features aimed at enhancing safety without compromising user experience.

Feature 1:

Feature 2:

Allows users to log date details (location, time, and person they are meeting) within the app.

Provides an option to share details with a trusted contact for added security.

CMB can send hourly prompts asking users to check-in on their date.

If users need a discrete way to exit the date, they can trigger a realistic fake call via the app, offering an easy escape from uncomfortable situations.

Solutions

Solution

We designed two in-app safety features that sit naturally within the dating journey - built for subtlety, customisation and peace of mind.

Allows users to log date details (location, time, and person they are meeting) within the app.
Provides an option to share details with a trusted contact for added security.

CMB can send hourly prompts asking users to check-in on their date.
If users need a discrete way to exit the date, they can trigger a realistic fake call via the app, offering an easy escape from uncomfortable situations.

Feature 1

Allows users to log date details (location, time, and person they are meeting) within the app.
Provides an option to share details with a trusted contact for added security.

Feature 2

CMB can send hourly prompts asking users to check-in on their date.

If users need a discrete way to exit the date, they can trigger a realistic fake call via the app, offering an easy escape from uncomfortable situations.
Optional live location or audio protect

Process

Research & Analysis:

To ensure our solutions were user-centric, we conducted 30-45 minute interviews with 8 female dating app users. We wanted to find out:

Their biggest safety concerns when using dating apps.
Their experiences with uncomfortable or unsafe dates.
Features they wished dating apps provided for added security.

User quotes:

I feel like I'm playing it by ear when it comes to safety.
I wish the app had some kind of built-in check-in feature to reassure me that someone knows where I am.
I usually mentally prepare myself for how I'll handle things if the date turns weird and I need a way out.
I like to joke about having my friends on speed dial as a warning to my dates when I feel unsafe.
I would feel more comforted knowing that there's someone I can fall back on.

“I feel like I’m playing it by ear when it comes to safety.”
“I wish the app had some kind of built-in check-in feature. Something to reassure me that someone knows where I am, just in case.”
“I usually mentally prepare myself for how I’ll handle things if the date turns weird and I need a way out.”
“I like to joke about having my friends on speed dial, to warn my dates not to try anything funny."
"I would feel more comforted knowing that there’s someone I can fall back on, even though they’re not physically beside me.”
“I feel like I’m playing it by ear when it comes to safety.”
“I wish the app had some kind of built-in check-in feature. Something to reassure me that someone knows where I am, just in case.”
“I usually mentally prepare myself for how I’ll handle things if the date turns weird and I need a way out.”
“I like to joke about having my friends on speed dial, to warn my dates not to try anything funny."
"I would feel more comforted knowing that there’s someone I can fall back on, even though they’re not physically beside me.”
“I feel like I’m playing it by ear when it comes to safety.”
“I wish the app had some kind of built-in check-in feature. Something to reassure me that someone knows where I am, just in case.”
“I usually mentally prepare myself for how I’ll handle things if the date turns weird and I need a way out.”
“I like to joke about having my friends on speed dial, to warn my dates not to try anything funny."
"I would feel more comforted knowing that there’s someone I can fall back on, even though they’re not physically beside me.”
“I feel like I’m playing it by ear when it comes to safety.”
“I wish the app had some kind of built-in check-in feature. Something to reassure me that someone knows where I am, just in case.”
“I usually mentally prepare myself for how I’ll handle things if the date turns weird and I need a way out.”
“I like to joke about having my friends on speed dial, to warn my dates not to try anything funny."
"I would feel more comforted knowing that there’s someone I can fall back on, even though they’re not physically beside me.”

These insights helped us surface core needs around control, subtlety and emotional reassurance, which formed the basis of our solutions.

We then developed a primary persona to guide our solution:

Cheryl represents a cautious yet hopeful dater who values control over her dating experience. She needs a way to feel safe and in control when meeting someone in person, so that she can focus on building meaningful connections without a nagging worry about safety.

Competitive and cross-industry analysis:

We reviewed other dating platforms like Tinder, Bumble, Hinge, identifying gaps and opportunities where CMB could differentiate themselves.

Beyond dating apps, we also looked at how ride-hailing platforms like Grab address safety through features such as:

Share My Ride feature: allows users to share their ride details with their loved ones
SOS button to contact police or ambulance and trigger message to users' pre-saved emergency contacts
Real time trip tracking
AudioProtect in case of a safety incident

These features serve as a valuable model for how platforms can proactively support user safety without being intrusive. We saw a clear opportunity for CMB to adopt a similar approach:

Incorporating real-time, in-date safety tools
Offering configurable check-ins based on comfort levels
Providing discrete ways for users to exit unsafe situations

Wireframing and prototyping:

We brainstormed and iterated across several solution ideas - evaluating each one against usability, emotional sensitivity and platform alignment. Our final solutions were chosen because they were:

Customisable to each users' comfort level
Supportive, not restrictive
Low-effort to use

Key learnings

This hackathon reinforced that trust and safety in dating isn’t just about preventing worst-case scenarios—it’s about helping users feel more comfortable and in control throughout their dating journey. We wanted to create features that offer subtle, unobtrusive support, all while offering peace of mind thr

Recognising that safety is not one-size-fits-all, we prioritised personalisation and choice - from adjustable check-in intervals, real-time location sharing to discrete escape features.

Our team's solution earned us a top 10 spot in the hackathon, but more importantly, it reinforced the impact of designing for real-world concerns. Beyond building our own solution, one of the most fulfilling aspects of this experience was learning from other product teams and getting to see different approaches and hear new perspectives on user safety.