Dating app Happn is adding 1.2 million users a month and introducing voice messages

Mobile dating app Happn is growing like crazy and is rolling out new features including voice messages to keep people hooked, Business Insider can reveal.

The app, which launched in Paris in early 2014, connects people who have crossed paths in real life.

Happn co-founder and CEO Didier Rapport told Business Insider in London on Friday that he plans to launch a number of new features in order to further improve the overall experience users get.

They include the ability to send voice messages to crushes.

"For us, the evolution of our product is really important," Rapport says. "We want to make a service that is more and more rich for our users and one that allows them to express themselves much more.

"The voice is something that is very emotional," the French entrepreneur continued. "Just listening to the voice of someone else can give you a lot of impression."

Happn now has 8 million users worldwide, with 700,000 of them in the UK. Rapport added that the app is gaining 1.2 million users a month and that it could be level with Tinder by 2017.

In addition to voice messaging, Happn will also allow users to integrate their Instagram profiles with the dating app, as rival firm Tinder did earlier this year.

Rapport did not want to publicly state when the new features will be rolled out to users.