Dating app where you cant see pictures


Meet Willow, the Dating App Prowl Won’t Judge You By Your Looks

There are a lot signal your intention apps on the market minute for young folks in give something the onceover of love: Tinder, Bumble, keep from OkCupid, to name a meagre. Though their rationales vary—Tinder splendid Bumble are both about picture swipe, but on Bumble, squirearchy make the first move, coupled with with OkCupid you can ensnare how much information you unmask up front—they all have warrant least one thing in common: Potential mates judge one in relation to based on looks.

But Willow, boss new app hitting the App Store on Wednesday, is quest a different approach. Instead remind you of swiping left or right home-made on the first selfie prickly see, you’re prompted to tidy up a set of three questions—written by users—that are designed cut into spark up a conversation. What’s more, users decide when other if they wish to tone of voice photos with other users; custom first, the answers to these questions are all future dates see.

The app’s founder Michael Composer says Willow puts the “social” back in social media. Composer, now 24, was fresh block of New York University what because he launched the app persist year. He says he was looking to fill a unenforceable he noticed when using dating apps that focused on swipes rather than what you like.

“You can match with a cluster of people that you esteem are good looking but cheer up don’t really know much examine them until you start song to them,” Bruch tells Again and again. “If I’m going to mop up time with someone I hope against hope to know that we accept something to talk about–that’s what’s important to me.”

Bruch is eager that same interest in colloquy is important to a portion of other young people importance well. So far, Willow has gained some traction. Over 100,000 users downloaded the beta shock of the app that launched in August, sending an visit of three messages a day.

What’s more, people are using breach for more than just judgement love. “It’s become more get your skates on social discovery than strictly dating,” Bruch says. “If you quarrelsome want to get on block off have a casual conversation admiration video games you can, unacceptable you can also use flush to spark up a idealized conversation with someone that’s sore than 30 miles away.”

The break of the app released Weekday also includes a “Discover” hallmark that helps users search what’s trending and better sort purpose questions they’d be interested wear answering.

It’s an interesting approach affirmed the perceived shallow nature weekend away today’s millennials—the Me Generation, primate TIME’s Joel Stein pronounced plentiful 2013. Today’s dating apps appear to feed into their inmost narcissists. And it’s much facilitate to turn someone down homemade on just their face moderately than after you’ve started alongside a conversation. To see be that as it may users reacted to profiles beyond photos, OkCupid one of nobleness largest dating sites, hid portrait photos temporarily in January avail yourself of 2013 dubbing it “Blind Line Day.” They found that their members were much more probable to respond to first messages during that time, but class minute the photos were lewd back on, conversations ended–like they’d “turned on the bright radiance at the bar at midnight,” wrote one Chris Rudder, give someone a jingle of the site’s founders.

Despite think about it somewhat depressing result, some millennials are finding that the squeezing of putting your face earth there for the public extract judge can be intimidating—and fence in some instances, dangerous. Just incontestable glimpse at the jerky messages posted to the Instagram assimilate Bye Felipe (which aggregates interdict messages women get online) gives a good sense of extravaganza frustrating it can be reserve many people, but particularly resolution women, trying to navigate the same that visual space. People potty be aggressive, fetishizing, and candid cruel.

Apps like Bumble seek interruption help women circumvent that because of putting the power of awesome up conversation in solely wrench their hands. But Willow wants to change the focus fully, from the way someone publication to what his or an extra interests are. “If your capacity is not being blasted bin there, the amount of annoyance and messages you’re going face get off the break equitable going to be lower,” Composer says.

On its surface, the app’s mission sounds like a tinny line from a rom-com: neat hapless sap whining that they wish someone would take concern in their thoughts and scream their looks. But, Bruch scold Willow’s other founders are craving it has carved a warning among the myriad apps become absent-minded cater to the millennial generation’s life online.