Thursday is looking to shake up traditional online dating in a crowded market. The app, which recently expanded to San Francisco, encourages targeted dating by limiting users’ access to Thursdays, when all matches disappear at midnight. The idea is that by limiting usage to one day a week, potential matches are encouraged to arrange real-life meetings sooner.
Many singles, especially younger users, are abandoning traditional dating apps due to “swiping fatigue,” a term that describes the feeling of exhaustion that comes from scrolling through countless profiles. This and other negative experiences, such as burnout from talking to too many people or getting stuck in an in-app messaging trap that rarely leads to an in-person date, have caused some younger users to grow weary of traditional dating apps. For example, Tinder, which essentially invented the swipe left/swipe right approach to dating, has lost paying users for seven consecutive quarters.
In contrast, Thursday encourages users to use the app when they really want a date. By promoting in-person meetings sooner rather than later and deleting matches after 24 hours, the app aims to prevent users from endlessly scrolling and seeking validation from dozens of matches they’ll never interact with. In fact, Thursday only lets you meet with 10 people per day, unless you pay a $19/month subscription fee to remove that cap.
Additionally, the company hosts exclusive IRL (in real life) singles events through a separate app called Thursday Events. The app features large meet-ups at places like bars, running clubs, fitness classes, dance studios, and art galleries. Users can also apply to host their own events.
In-person dating has seen a resurgence in the post-pandemic era, with younger singles resorting to “old-fashioned” methods like meeting in public in the hope of finding love. According to a 2024 Eventbrite survey, attendance at dating and singles events on the event marketplace increased by 42% from 2022 to 2023. Eventbrite reported that there were over 1.5 million searches for such gatherings on the platform. Speed dating is also making a comeback.
The latest launch on Thursday in San Francisco comes at a time when dating giants Bumble and Match Group (owners of Tinder and Hinge) are grappling with the challenges of adapting to the post-pandemic dating landscape and people’s general frustration with dating apps.
Bumble reported second-quarter results on Wednesday, falling short of Wall Street’s revenue forecasts. The company also cut its annual revenue growth forecast, citing investor concerns about the company’s ability to attract and retain users. Shares fell 30% after the market closed.
Match also suffered setbacks in the second quarter, cutting its workforce by 6% after shutting down its livestreaming services for dating apps Plenty of Fish and BLK. Most notably, Tinder saw its paid user base drop for the seventh consecutive quarter.
Other dating startups have also tried to capitalize on the disappointment with Bumble, Tinder, and Hinge. Over the years, various new apps have come onto the market, catering to all sorts of user habits and communities. These include platforms for gamers, an app that hides selfies until users message each other, an app that matches users based on their favorite dating locations, and so on. There’s even a dating app for people with good credit.
Founded in 2021 by Matthew McNeill Love and George Rawlings, Thursday has since been downloaded 906,000 times on iOS and Android devices worldwide, according to app intelligence provider Sensor Tower.
The app is currently available in six markets – Australia, Canada (Toronto only), Ireland, the UK, the US and Sweden (Stockholm only) – in 26 cities, including Austin, Texas; Dublin, Ireland; Chicago, Illinois; London, England; Miami, Florida; New York, New York; Sydney, Australia and more.
The company’s goal is to be present in 100 cities by the end of 2024.
