bokay dating app

Someone in Toronto has created a dating app that's basically 'Love is Blind'

A new dating app that was created and launched in Toronto promises to "slow the swipe" by taking on a unique new approach.

It's no secret that people are getting tired of dating apps. For many, they feel shallow, tiring, inauthentic and frequently unsuccessful.

Bokay, the latest contender in the endlessly expanding dating app landscape, wants to change all that by taking on an entirely new approach to the dating app game — and considering Toronto needs some serious help in the flirting department, it's a welcome addition.

Ali Momen, Founder and co-Creator of Bokay, tells blogTO that the idea for the app came to him when a friend, who had been lamenting her dating app experiences, shared a story about someone who had recently caught her eye.

"She [...] told me a story of a guy who came to her work to do a presentation on sports marketing. At first she wasn't too into him, but the more he spoke, the more he became attractive," Momen tells blogTO.

"As she told me this story I [imagined] a blurred image, and as you swipe through evocative prompts the image slowly reveals."

So, he called up her friend and co-Founder Carlos (who he describes as a "genius developer") and together they spent the past year creating Bokay before the app officially launched on March 16.

Rather than photographs being the central feature of a user's profile, on Bokay, your photo is initially blurred. Users then swipe through various personality-revealing prompts, with the image gradually getting clearer with each swipe as a way of match more mindfully and dating "deeper."

"The effect was to mimic a curtain rising during a performance," Momen tells blogTO. "We wanted your profile to feel super special."

The app's tagline, "slow the swipe," reflects Ali's desire to subvert the feeling of "haste and disposability" you get from the current offerings on the dating app market, saying that early testers have reported greater feelings of connection with people they might not typically choose.

"People say Bokay is like Love Is Blind…I guess it is," Ali says with a wink, "just without the drama." 

The app, which has already had hundreds of love-seekers sign on, is currently focused in Toronto, where the team is located. But, it is available Canada-wide through the App Store, with an Android-friendly version expected to drop soon.

Lead photo by

René Ranisch via Unsplash


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