After, a new dating app founded by a woman, launches in Austin, Texas, on Thursday with a mission to tackle ghosting and hold people accountable.
What makes the app different from other dating apps is that After requires users to tell them why they are unmatching before continuing to swipe. The idea behind this feature is to eliminate sudden disconnects and confusion.
Founded in October 2023, After is the brainchild of Katie Dissanayake, who came up with the idea for the app after spending a decade in the dating app industry. Prior to founding After, Dissanayake worked at Hud, where she fell in love with technology and learned everything from reliability and safety to product development.
Through After, Dissanayake wants to address the issue of dating app fatigue and do something different to what the major dating apps currently on the market offer.
“Our defining feature is anti-ghosting, which we think holds users accountable,” Dissanayake told TechCrunch, “but it also gives users a sense of resolution.”
In After, if two people match and start a conversation, but one person stops responding, you'll be prompted to respond. If you still don't message the other person, the match will expire. You'll need to choose a reason for expiring the match before you can use the app's features again.
Image credit: After
Users can choose from a list of reasons why they decided to stop replying, such as distance issues or a lack of vibes, and After will create a kind message to send to the other person, reminding them that this doesn't represent who they are or their values.
Additionally, if two people match but neither send a message, the app will prompt them to talk to each other, and if neither sends a message, After will end the match. So instead of cluttering your inbox with matches like other dating apps, After is focused on only showing you matches you're interacting with.
The app also includes a dating guide to help users have a better dating experience. For example, for those who are struggling to find a match, After suggests changing their image or tweaking their profile.
In the interest of transparency, After features “visitor” and “local” badges so you can see if your match actually lives in Austin or is just visiting.
After will soon be adding an opt-in mental health check-in feature that will allow you to reflect on your mood and feelings, and will also suggest taking a break if it thinks you're using the app too much.
After operates on a freemium model, with free users only getting basic access to the app. The app has After's in-app currency, called “petals,” which can be used to purchase additional features like boosts and super likes. Free users can earn petals by completing their profile and more, while paid subscribers can earn 500 petals per month and full access to unlimited chats and likes for $19.99 per month.
As for expanding beyond Austin, the company plans to launch the app across Texas before offering it in other states.
“I'm really keen to cultivate a small community first before we go ahead, because there's nothing worse than launching an app and having one user in each state and it not working for anyone,” Dissanayake said.
After is available on both iOS and Android.