Oli Lipski
A highly-anticipated dating app you can only access one day a week has been criticised by pre-registered users after announcing another delay to its launch.
The Thursday dating app aims to say goodbye to ‘swipe fatigue’ by only being accessible on, erm, Thursdays. As the current trend in dating apps signifies a pivot to video content, from Gen Z bait such as Feels and Facebook’s new video speed date platform Sparked, Thursday’s pared-back, minimal approach offers something a little different. But its Instagram followers have expressed they are a little tired of waiting, after the team announced another delay to its launch.
The app was supposed to launch in New York City and London this Thursday (May 13), with expansion to Paris, Amsterdam and Berlin expected this summer. Due to a bug found within the app, however, the team announced on Instagram on May 11 it won’t be launching this week – and will launch on May 27 instead.
With more than 110,000 sign-up requests already, the app has its Instagram account set to private, creating a ‘members-only’ atmosphere for its 75,200 followers – many of whom aren’t happy about how long they’ve been left waiting.
One user wrote: “@thursdaydating: endless marketing, no product.” Another wrote: “I’m losing interest, so long to launch, I’m now in a relationship.”
The app will ask all of its users to verify their profile by uploading government-approved ID, in an attempt to filter out users who abuse its policy against hate speech, racism, body shaming and misogynistic comments. The app will also have a one-time report policy, meaning members will be banned after just one person reports them.
While you’ll be suggested matches based on your location, exact locations will never be shared. “We know how important a safe community is and we want women to be able to enjoy the romance and spontaneity the app offers whilst feeling safe and supported,” Rawlings and McNeill commented.
Thursday originally launched it under the moniker Honeypot, with a focus on encouraging real-life interactions. After assessing Honeypot’s usage and demographic, the app was rebranded to Thursday, focusing on how significantly popular Thursday was for its predominantly 25 to 35-year old user base.
Now, as there will be a higher concentration of users on just one day of the week, the founders hope Thursday will improve a user’s chances of meeting someone IRL – that very same day.
However, an app that actively prevents users from using it 85% of the time is certainly an interesting model. However, as the dating app market is seriously oversaturated, app founders are keen to offer something that’ll be genuinely attractive to its user base. For busy, ambitious and screen-fatigued 25 to 35-year-olds, this might be just the ticket.
Users of the Thursday app won’t be able to access the platform any other day of the week (except for VIP users who will also have the option to log in on Saturday). If you tried to access the app on Tuesday, for example, you’d be greeted with a homepage interface that would say “It’s Tuesday, sorry but the app is turned off today”.
When the app will let you in, users can create a profile with a maximum of five photos. You can match up to 10 people every Thursday, with the premise being that you go on a date with a match that same day.
There will also be a limited number of VIP membership available. For a monthly fee, VIP users can expect 60 times higher visibility, the ability to send unlimited likes and the ability to access the app on Saturdays, too.
The co-founders wrote: “People have anticipated the day, they’re in the same frame of mind and keen to meet. They’ve got themselves mentally ‘date ready’ and are good to go. It’s spontaneous without being too spontaneous because they’ve planned it and known all week, come Thursday, they’re going on a date.”
Londoners and New Yorkers can ask for an invite to Thursday now ahead of its May 27 launch via the Thursday website. You’ll need to have Instagram, though, as the next step is to follow the Instagram account to receive the app download link.
