helloTruly Hopes To Change The Dating Game With No Swiping Or Chatting

It’s almost unfathomable: a dating app with no swiping and no ability to chat with other users. Is it possible for such a service to break into the crowded online dating scene? helloTruly hopes so.

The new Chicago-based app is taking the Goldilocks approach. helloTruly wants to give singles just enough technology to get the ball rolling, but not so much that they’re glued to the app and neglect actual, in-person meeting. Not too much, not too little - just right.

Father-and-son founding team Andy and Jack Kenoe describe the app as a “digital icebreaker” focused on connecting people in physical spaces like coffee shops and bookstores. Users of the free iOS and Android app are alerted when another user is in the same location and matches their indicated preferences.

It’s what happens next that sets helloTruly apart. The only way to reveal your full profile to others is to check in to a location, and you’re forbidden from browsing profiles of users who aren’t in your immediate area. There’s also no way to chat with people in the app. The only form of communication is a digital "wave" that lets a user in the room know you're interested.

In the absence of an artificial online environment in which to connect and communicate, the Kenoes hope helloTruly users are more motivated to meet face to face. They aren’t just encouraged to put their phones away and say hello in-person - they have no other option.

“helloTruly uses the right amount of technology to make finding someone new in the moment easier and then gets out of the way to let two people connect in their own authentic way,” said Andy Kenoe in a press release. “helloTruly makes in-person introductions easier because you know that other helloTruly user is receptive to meeting someone new.”

To make the most of the app and increase your odds of meeting someone new, you can check the Hot Spots screen. Hot Spots keeps you up to date on the nearby venues that have recently been the most popular with helloTruly users.

“helloTruly uses physical locations—venues—to connect people instead of creating an artificial online environment to browse profiles and text with people,” said Jack Kenoe. “Seeing someone with your own eyes is better than relying on a profile photo. And having an in-person conversation is better than chatting online with someone you’ve never met.”

Many dating services have struggled to make the leap from online to in-person. helloTruly hopes that its unique approach to the problem will be all it needs to differentiate itself from the sea of dating apps.

"We don’t need to go up against Tinder or say 'drop Match.' All we need to be, and what we really are, is the only true icebreaker singles can add to their existing dating tool chest," Andy Kenoe said. If you want to find out more about helloTruely, you can visit their website.