Genuine Dating App

Introduction

This is a proposal for an app designed to foster genuine connection between people. 

If you’re reading this, please feel free to provide suggestions and feedback by commenting.

Dating App Exemplars

Basic Design

  • Purely algorithmic matching based dating app (no swiping)
    • User trains it on their preferences by rating hundreds of profiles on their desirability as short-term, mid-term, long-term or life partners
    • User selects a 0-100% scale of their overall desire for short-term, mid-term, long-term or life partner (assuming great mutual fit) and all variations of short-term, mid-term, long-term, and/or life partner in conjunction (e.g., 100% desire for great short-term match + 20% desire for great medium term-match + 5% desire for great long-term match + 1% desire for great life partner match)
    • App connects the user in rank order with everyone above their desired filter rating (i.e., at first the user only sees their top 10% of matches, then only their top 11-20% matches, then only their top 21-30% matches, etc.)
    • Privately matches users to others that score similarly to questions about their ideal time to (a) talk, (b) go on a date, (c) have their first kiss, (d) have sex, (e) start a relationship, and (f) get married
      • If there is no alignment on timing with potential partners, the user is informed of this and prompted to reconsider their preferences
      • Optionally shows the desired timeline visually on the profile (e.g., sex after 3 dates, marriage after 6 months, etc.)

Profile Ratings

  • Profile ratings incorporate percentage of reciprocated messages, number of dates, number of relationships, number of other positive outcomes, and time usage to positive outcomes ratio
  • Profile ratings incorporate reviews of every interaction with other users
    • .1% of chats are anonymized and rated by 3+ random app users
      • Or more ratings until there is sufficient inter-rater reliability to provide a consensus rating
    • Every date is anonymously reviewed by each party–including on perceptions of the other person’s actual relationship timing preferences–and their write ups are also anonymized and presented side by side to be rated by 3+ random app users
      • Or more ratings until there is sufficient inter-rater reliability to provide a consensus rating
    • Users must regularly provide reviews to stay active on the app
  • Profile ratings incorporate EQ, SWLS, IQ, dark triad, and potentially other validated measures integrated into a single Genuine Partner Assessment (GPA) that the user is incentivized to take to earn a higher profile rating (or perhaps to activate their profile in the first place)
    • The more measures the user takes, the higher their profile rating
    • The better the ratings on the measures the user takes, the higher their profile rating
  • Highly rated profiles are highlighted in the feed, receive free bonuses, cash, etc.
  • Lowly rated profiles are deemphasized in the feed and delisted if they don’t reach a baseline quality threshold within 30 days of activation
    • Lowly rated profiles are given anonymous feedback for improvement 

No Honey, No Money

  • $120/year given upfront by user to join to be held in escrow by the company
  • $120 returned to user if no positive outcomes occur over a year of usage
  • $1 per conversation on app is paid to the company (triggered by 3+ messages exchanged)
  • $5 per conversation off app is paid to the company (triggered by exchanging contact information)
  • $10 per date is paid to the company (triggered by user reviews after the date)
  • $60 per relationship is paid to the company (triggered by user reviews)
  • $120 per marriage is paid to the company (triggered by user reviews)
    • Option to send thank you tip to the company of a suggested $1,000 (of which $120 would be donated to a user with limited financial means for their use)

No Catfishing

  • Incorporates verification of the user’s appearance by algorithm or rating by 3+ random app users
    • If the user does not provide sufficient photos and videos for verification, then the profile is not approved to go live

No Match Collecting / Ghosting

  • Only allows 20 matches at any one time
  • New matches are available only after existing matches are closed out
  • Any match not intentionally closed out after 30 days is removed with an automatic message to both users and a small penalty to their profile ratings

Automatic Date Planning

  • Automatically plans the user’s first date 
    • Option #1: app requires a video chat date within 24 hours of both matches logging in post-match, otherwise the match is automatically removed 
    • Option #2: app integrates with user’s calendars to show user’s availability, which the users can select, then the algorithm suggests a highly rated restaurant, bar, coffee shop or other venue to meet at based on users’ mutual desires that is equidistant between the users

Visualization

  • Visually shows all matches on a map
  • Visually shows all relevant dating statistics
    • Visually shows the user’s recent increase or decrease in profile ratings over time (but does not show relative rating to other users except optionally for those in the top 15%)
    • Visually shows number of messages, average time per message, average response rate, average time to date, average time to desired outcome, etc.