This new dating app promises to find your soulmate – without showing their face

Compatibility's about more than initial attraction

Dating apps have become a constant cycle of matching with hot people and then never having a single fruitful conversation. Now, an Australian psychologist is changing the way we date online.

No matter how many times we say we’re shifting our dating preferences and prioritising a good sense of humour, smarts, kindness and similar values over looks, many of us still find ourselves with the same type of guy who looks like all of our exes again and again.

It can be hard to stray from our established types, we’re creatures of habit after all.

If you go through your matches on dating apps to see that they all look and act like your typical type, and all never get past a chat and a few unsuccessful dates, it may be time to change your approach to dating. 

Australian Clinical Psychologist, Rachel Harker has developed a new app to encourage us to look past physical appearances when searching for connections. 

Tribal makes users’ values the focus, instead of an added bonus to good looks.

Tribal makes users’ values the focus, instead of an added bonus to good looks. Image: Unsplash

The app prioritises showing us people who are actually compatible with us and share similar relationship priorities and personal interests, while taking away the option to judge a book by its cover.

Users can’t see each other’s photos. 

Don’t worry, you won’t have to go into a date completely blind – the app unblurs matches’ photos after the first 72 hours. But you get three whole days to chat without any preconceived ideas based on their looks.

If you’ve watched Love Is Blind and wondered if getting to know someone without any idea how they look could be the trick to more successful dating, here’s your chance.

Users can’t see each other’s photos. Image: Pexels

The gamification of dating apps

We’re hoping Tribal is the answer to ending the gamification of dating apps. 

While most of us download them to connect with people, we’ve all found ourselves opening the app, swiping on hot person after hot person, but stopping short of actually having a conversation. 

Some dating apps have been accused of purposely setting users up to get addicted to the validation they receive online.

We’re hoping Tribal is the answer to ending the gamification of dating apps. Image: iStock

Author of The Future of Seduction, Mia Levitin told The Guardian, “By hijacking the brain’s reward system, which privileges the short-term hit of dopamine over more long-term rewards, the design of dating apps encourages us to keep playing. It’s like the quick fix of junk food rather than enjoying a real meal”.

These platforms for connection turn into places to get a quick dopamine hit when we see the little number representing the amount of people who think we’re hot. We open the app for guaranteed validation and close it again as soon as we feel a confidence boost. 

By making users go deeper than superficial looks from the get go, Tribal reminds us why we downloaded the app in the first place, hopefully giving us the push we need to actually converse with potential partners. 

“We're not saying love at first sight doesn't exist," Harker explained, "but physical attraction can grow over time, and other key factors are crucial for building a long-lasting relationship."

Originally published as This new dating app promises to find your soulmate – without showing their face