The Dating App That Gives You One Date and No Swiping Left

Online dating, in one way or another, has always been about swiping right or left. You go through lots of profiles, choose some that seem appealing and then try to make a connection from there. Like a lot of other networking, it feels like a numbers game. You have to go on a certain number of dates or swipe right on the right number of profiles before you find the one … or at least one that you like enough to spend time with. Ditto has a different approach, using algorithmic scarcity as a differentiator.

“It comes with the person, it comes with a time, it comes with a location, and the users simply just need to show up and date each other and come back. We’ll collect more feedback about the date, and then improve our understanding of the user, and send them to a better next date,” Wang said. “Right now, people’s goal is really just to go out there and meet each other, so it’s actually removing a lot of friction for our users, so that we are doing the heavy lifting for them, and they just simply go there and then meet whoever.”

Like most platforms, the founder believes in the power of the algorithm to predict chemistry between two people. What’s more interesting about the platform, though, is how much friction it removes from the process of meeting up altogether. They pick the person, the time, the day, and the location. You just show up. The ease of use combined with some pretty creative marketing (like their search for a Chief Yacht Officer to throw parties for them), is already getting some attention. If it works, we may see more apps and tools that also tailor their offerings to this sort of narrow casting where you’re not left with search results or a list of recommendations but rather a single option as your choice – take it or leave it.