Thursday: The Once-a-Week Dating App, Launches in San Francisco

Thursday is setting out to transform the saturated online dating scene. With its recent foray into San Francisco, the app introduces a novel approach by limiting user activity to Thursdays only, causing all matches to vanish at the stroke of midnight. This unique restriction aims to spur users into arranging real-life rendezvous promptly.

A growing number of singles, particularly the younger demographic, are veering away from mainstream dating platforms, citing “swiping fatigue” as a major deterrent. This syndrome denotes the weariness felt from endlessly browsing profiles, compounded by other unfavorable factors such as communication overload or the endless in-app chat loop seldom leading to physical meet-ups. Consequently, platforms like Tinder, known for pioneering the swipe selection method, have observed a dip in their paid subscriber count for seven consecutive financial quarters.

In stark contrast, Thursday nudges its users towards genuine dating aspirations. It discourages passive profile browsing and superficial interactions by eliminating matches after a 24-hour window and caps daily matches at ten, with the option to lift this limit for a $19 monthly premium. This initiative encourages more meaningful connections and real-life interactions.

Moreover, Thursday enhances the dating experience by organizing special IRL (in real life) events through a companion app, Thursday Events. These gatherings span various settings like bars, fitness groups, dance classes, art venues, and more, offering a platform for singles to connect face-to-face. Users have the opportunity to host their own events as well.

The move towards traditional dating methods is becoming more pronounced post-pandemic, with younger individuals preferring public meetups in their quest for companionship. According to a 2024 Eventbrite study, there was a 42% increase in attendance at singles and dating events between 2022 and 2023, backed by over 1.5 million searches on their platform, signaling a resurgence in speed dating as well.

As Thursday makes headway in San Francisco, established players like Bumble and Match Group face the daunting task of adapting to a dating world that’s rapidly evolving post-pandemic, alongside the general discontent with traditional dating apps.

Bumble’s recent disclosure of its second-quarter earnings fell below market expectations, leading to a downward revision of their yearly revenue growth projections. This outlook has raised concerns over the firm’s user engagement and retention strategies, prompting a 30% decline in its stock value post-announcement. 

Similarly, Match faced its challenges with a 6% workforce reduction following the discontinuation of livestreaming services on the Plenty of Fish and BLK apps. Notably, Tinder has seen a persistent decline in its paid user base over the past seven quarters.

Amidst these challenges, several dating startups are emerging, aiming to disrupt the status quo with unique offerings tailored to specific interests, behaviors, and community needs. These range from platforms catering to gamers, to ones that promote profile visibility only upon mutual interaction, services that match based on preferred dating locales, and even a platform for those with high credit scores.

Since its inception in 2021 by Matthew McNeill Love and George Rawlings, Thursday has amassed 906,000 downloads globally across iOS and Android platforms, per Sensor Tower’s analysis.

Currently, the app is accessible in six markets — including Australia, Canada (specifically Toronto), Ireland, the U.K., the U.S., and Sweden (specifically Stockholm) — across 26 cities and aims to expand to 100 cities by the end of 2024.