Product Management interview question [Product Design]: Design YouTube for Dating.

This question has been asked in Google in the past year.

Clarify Scope -

• Integrate dating in the current YouTube application or is it a new application by YouTube?
• Is it web based or app based?
• Does this have all the YouTube data for users?
• Or do the users have to create new accounts from scratch?

Goals -

The goal is to create a dating app by YouTube, and integrate it within the YouTube app itself. It is available on the web as well as an app. It can use YouTube’s/Google’s data and services. Users do not need to create new profiles from scratch. They just have to sign-up to YouTube dating from the application.

User Journey -

Users open the YouTube app, they sign-up using their gmail id. YouTube has a dating option, where users need to sign-up to dating. Users see a ‘Dating’ button in the sidebar. On clicking the button the users are redirected to YouTube dating where they can connect with their potential dates.

Pain Points -

1. Traditional apps allow choosing dates on the basis of pictures, and a 5–6 lines description rather than similarity in taste.
2. Difficult to break ice with completely new people if they get matched.
3. Difficult to find people with shared interests.
4. Security of users — fake profiles, catfishing, identity theft.
5. Physical meetings are not possible in Covid times.
6. Picking up the best places for date.
7. Staying in touch beyond a dating app and simultaneously worrying about the safety of personal details (such as phone number/ email id). Being a touch beyond a dating app becomes difficult. No one opens dating app like WhatsApp to chat with each other. But on the other hand it is difficult to share ones phone number or email id with each other.

Solutions -

1. Allow users to share their playlists, their favorite channels as a part of their profile so that users with similar taste can connect for a possible date.
2. Let users invite other people to specific channels or videos.
3. Sharing playlists, favorite YouTube artists, and YouTube shorts acts as a good ice-breaker no matter how new a person is.
4. Give a YouTube dating annual wrap to tell users how many people they dated, photos shared, videos and channels recommended etc.
5. Take advantage of Google’s supreme AI to identify duplicate and fake emails to not let users create multiple accounts
6. Not let users create multiple accounts with the same phone number.
7. Verify accounts by asking for a government approved id card.
8. Implement Facebook’s profile picture guard like feature to not let users download or screenshot images from other user accounts.
9. Let users watch YouTube videos together to create an environment of virtual date.
10. Leverage the power of YouTube and Duo/Meet to let users watch videos while on a video call to create an environment of virtual date.
11. Leverage Google Maps/Calendar to plan dates whenever and wherever required.
12. Here we leverage the power of Google Hangouts where the users are connected beyond a dating app but without compromising their personal details like email id or phone number. Users are given usernames, which are mapped to their email ids internally. Other users don’t need to know ones phone number or email address to stay in touch.

Prioritize -

Success Metrics -

Daily Active Users

Weekly Active Users

Monthly Active Users

Number of YouTube users who signed up for Dating

Daily time spent on YouTube Dating.

Summary -

We designed YouTube for dating, understanding the pain points of the users with current dating apps and solutions for tese, prioritized them and discussed some success metrics for the same.