A dating app that leads with your worst qualities — verified by exes — might create better matches than apps showcasing carefully curated highlights, suggests Uri Bram in his latest Atoms vs Bits newsletter.
In his proposed app, dubbed "I Can Deal With That," users would display their three biggest relationship flaws, authenticated by previous partners. The idea: find someone uniquely equipped to handle your particular shortcomings. "In a world where everyone wants to date someone smart and funny and beautiful, and everyone has flaws that their partners will inevitably have to put up with, maybe the real underlying model of matching is that you end up with the person whose particular brand of bullshit you're unusually well-suited to tolerate," Uri says.
Uri also describes several other dating app concepts, including "It's Just Us," which would ban any profile said by anyone else. Uri says. "Yes this would alienate 99% of users and make them leave the app but THIS IS A BONUS, the people who are left will be much more interesting."
Another concept, "Choosy," presents users with four potential matches at once, forcing them to select just one. "The other three are gone forever, you never get shown them again."
The most practical concept might be "Content-ment," which would monetize through Amazon affiliate links rather than subscriptions. "People would INEVITABLY click those links in order to be able to talk to you about the things you're into," Uri says, "and then we have an ad-free subscription-free dating app that actually makes money."
Previously:
• How scammers use dating apps to steal your money
• Deer-poaching woman brags on dating app to the wrong person
• TikToker reads one-star reviews of new conservative dating app, The Right Stuff (video)
