After is a brand new relationship app that tries to sort out ghosting | TechCrunch

A brand new female-founded relationship app referred to as After is launching in Austin, Texas on Thursday with the mission of tackling ghosting and holding folks accountable. 

What units the app aside from the remainder of the relationship app scene is that After requires customers to share why they’ve unmatched an individual earlier than they’re allowed to maintain swiping. The concept behind the function is to eliminate abrupt disconnections and confusion. 

Based in October 2023, After is the brainchild of Katie Dissanayake, who got here up with the thought for the app after spending a decade within the relationship app business. Previous to founding After, Dissanayake labored at Hud, the place she fell in love with tech and realized about every thing from belief and security to product improvement. 

With After, Dissanayake desires to deal with issues round relationship app fatigue, and do one thing completely different from what the most important relationship apps which might be presently available on the market supply. 

“Our standout function is anti-ghosting, which I believe holds folks accountable,” Dissanayake informed TechCrunch. “On the flip facet, it offers folks closure.” 

If two folks match on After and begin a dialog, however one individual stops replying, they are going to be nudged to reply. If the individual nonetheless doesn’t message the opposite consumer, the match expires. Earlier than they will use the app’s options once more, they want to decide on a motive for why they let the match expire. 

Customers can select from a listing of causes to elucidate why they determined to cease responding. As an illustration, they will say distance was a difficulty or that the vibes didn’t match. After will then create a form message and ship it to the opposite individual, and remind them that this isn’t a illustration of who they’re or their price. 

Plus, if two folks match however neither of them messages one another, the app will immediate them to speak to one another. If neither individual sends a message, then After will finish the match. So as a substitute of getting an inbox full of matches such as you would on different relationship apps, After is concentrated on solely surfacing matches you’re interacting with. 

The app additionally consists of relationship guides to assist customers have a greater relationship expertise. As an illustration, if somebody is having bother getting matches, After will counsel that they alter their picture or spruce up their profile. 

Within the pursuit of transparency, After options “customer” and “native” badges in order that matches are conscious of whether or not somebody really lives in Austin or if they’re simply visiting. 

After will quickly embody opt-in psychological well being check-ins the place you possibly can replicate in your temper and emotions. And if the app thinks you might have been utilizing the app an excessive amount of, it would counsel that you just take a break. 

After operates on a freemium mannequin, letting free customers get primary entry to the app. The app options “petals,” which is After’s in-app foreign money that permits you to purchase further options, resembling boosts and tremendous likes. Whereas free customers can earn petals by doing issues like filling out their profile, paid subscribers get 500 petals monthly and full entry to limitless chats and likes for $19.99 monthly. 

By way of increasing past Austin, the corporate plans to launch the app throughout Texas earlier than providing it in a special state. 

“I’m actually enthusiastic about rising a little bit neighborhood first earlier than transferring on as a result of nothing is worse than opening an app up after which you might have, like, one consumer in every state, and it simply doesn’t work for anyone,” Dissanayake stated. 

After is accessible on each iOS and Android.