11 May 2021

New dating app only works on Thursdays

With every swipe unveiling a new potential mate, dating apps are designed to be addictive. Thursday, a new app launching any day now, aims to create a more balanced experience. It only works on — you guessed it — Thursdays.

Users are encouraged to block their Thursdays for dating, so when the app opens up and matches are made, they can set up dates for that very evening. Which not only accelerates the process, but also reduces the amount of small talk between in-app liking and in-person meeting. All matches and conversations disappear at midnight, so users need to act quickly.

Perhaps most crucially for everyone's mental wellbeing, the one-day-a-week limit eliminates mindless scrolling and swiping from Friday through Wednesday. As Thursday puts it, "Because there's more to life than dating apps." Thursday will first open up for users in its hometown of London and in New York, with 125,000 people preregistered.

Thursday isn't the only app that narrows its focus to a single day: social network Sundayy shows friends' updates just once a week. Could your brand similarly offer a better product by being mindful of people's time and sanity — building anticipation instead of constantly seeking their attention?

Spotted by: Pablo Riquelme — Photo: Yolanda Sun