A dating app launched this week in the United States hopes to solve the problem of ghosting — the practice of stopping chatting with a friend without giving an explanation. To do this, After requires users to send feedback when cancelling a match. Without sending feedback, the person cannot continue searching for new contacts.
If you’ve ever had a relationship with someone on an app in the last few years, whether it was a hookup or someone you didn’t even date, you’ve probably experienced ghosting. In these situations, the “victim” doesn’t understand why the conversation was cut short. With feedback, After hope that at least the person will figure out what went wrong with the contact.
The creator wants to solve dating app flaws
After was developed by Katie Dissanayake, who previously worked on Hud, another dating app. According to Dissanayake, one of the flaws of such apps is “fatigue.” In addition to the feedback tool, After sends notifications so people can chat with each other.
For example, if a user sends a message and the other person doesn’t respond after a while, the app sends a notification to remind the person to respond. If neither person starts a conversation after a match, both receive the notification.
If the person doesn’t respond, or rather, if the ghosting is left blank, After automatically deletes the match — and then provides feedback to explain why the ghosting occurred. With the feedback in hand, the app itself creates a “kind” message for the person who was left blank.
In an interview with TechCrunch, the app’s creator also highlights that After prioritizes communication, which is why its anti-ghosting tools delete chats. If you’ve ever used Tinder, Happn, or any other app like that, you’ve probably found yourself with a list of chats — and several that no longer work.
In one way, After tends to value conversations that move forward rather than “volume.” On the other hand, it takes away any possibility of an inactive conversation coming back with a “Hi, I’ve been missing.”
Source: TechCrunch
