Sonder Embraces a Frustrating Sign-Up to Combat Profile Fatigue
A new dating app called Sonder is gaining attention in London for its intentionally cumbersome onboarding process, which its founders say filters for users willing to invest genuine effort.
The app, launched by four mid-twenties founders – Mehedi Hassan, Helen Sun, Lenard Pratt, and Hannah Kin – stems from their own dissatisfaction with mainstream platforms. They observed that profiles often devolved into repetitive, low-effort declarations, such as claiming pineapple on pizza as a “controversial” opinion. Rather than relying on surveys or user interviews, the team drew directly from personal experience with what they described as a “slot machine of misery.
”Sonder’s profiles depart from the structured prompts and questionnaires common on apps like Tinder or Hinge. Instead, users create unstructured digital collages or mood boards, resembling a mix of Pinterest and early social networks like MySpace. The sign-up is deliberately time-consuming and friction-heavy, with no AI tools to generate or polish content. Co-founder Mehedi Hassan, who works in AI product engineering by day, explicitly avoids AI-assisted profile creation, arguing it preserves the “human touch” and signals a user’s actual interest in forming connections.
This approach has reportedly helped the app attract around 6,500 users in London without paid marketing. The platform supports both platonic and romantic interactions, aiming to reduce the pressure that often accompanies purely romantic spaces.
Beyond the app itself, Sonder organizes recurring in-person events in London, such as “Speed Drawing,” “Presentation Night,” and the tongue-in-cheek “Performative Male Contest.” These gatherings are designed to feel low-stakes and repeatable, similar to run clubs but without requiring physical exertion. Co-founder Helen Sun noted that the events emulate social routines where people can return regularly without the expectation of immediate success, helping combat the burnout and loss of authenticity that plague swipe-based apps.
