LONDON -- Is there anything more off-putting than swiping through endless, unsuitable profiles on dating apps?
Things could be about to change, however. A new dating app has just launched in the UK, aiming to tackle ‘dating fatigue’ - the state of being completely overwhelmed by the number of matches suggested by dating apps.
London-based app Once is the first dating app where dates are chosen by human matchmakers, a throwback to the pre-Internet days of matchmaking services where pairings were determined by people not computer algorithms. Real, trained humans work to find users the perfect date, in an effort to return to slow dating.
Dates are carefully chosen using several criteria, including interests, looks and personal preferences. Once users will receive one handpicked date every day, which they can either accept or decline.
“People are fed up with having to just sit and swipe through hundreds of people in the hope that they might find one person who they like and then start a conversation with,” says Jean Meyer, founder and CEO of Once.
“With Once, we’re taking that responsibility on ourselves, and are handpicking great people for London’s time-starved daters. With the right matches lined up you’ll have time to continue with your day as normal and know that you’ll have a handpicked date delivered to your inbox every 24 hours.”
The app launched in France a few weeks ago and gained 150,000 users in less than a month. It's now available in the UK and is free to download on iOS and Android.