CrowdMatch Opens Waitlist for Crowd-Based Dating App

Las Vegas-based dating startup CrowdMatch has opened a public waitlist for its planned New York City launch, introducing a matchmaking model in which members help decide whether two people appear to be a potential match.

Rather than asking users to browse detailed profiles, bios or personality information, CrowdMatch centres its matching process on photographs. New members first vote on three pairs of people before receiving a profile of their own, with other participants then providing independent opinions about potential matches.

The concept is based on the informal role friends often play in dating. CrowdMatch is attempting to turn the familiar practice of sharing a dating profile in a group chat and asking for opinions into a structured platform.

The company says its system will not assign numerical attractiveness scores or publicly rank users. It also plans to avoid leaderboards, compatibility percentages, personality quizzes and public statistics. Users will not be told which individual participants voted for or against them. It also features a short delay between displaying a pairing and allowing a vote, intended to encourage users to consider each decision rather than rapidly work through large numbers of pairings.

Privacy, consent and moderation are among the areas CrowdMatch says it is addressing ahead of launch. Users choose which photographs they submit, while the company plans to publish its rules and privacy terms through its website. These rules will no doubt be tweaked as the platform settles into a niche and sructure that makes sense for the audience it gathers.

The initial launch is planned for New York City, with an Android version expected at launch and an iOS release to follow. The city is meant to provide an initial market in which to test the crowd-based matchmaking model and collect feedback from users – the approach is a major departure from conventional dating apps, making testing an especially important phase of its launch.