A new dating app called LoveJack is preparing to enter the crowded relationship tech market with a pared-down, word-first approach to matchmaking. Designed by co-founders Julia LeStage and Lisa Le, LoveJack strips the dating profile down to just five words – forcing users to think carefully about how they want to represent themselves to their matches.
Rather than conventional swiping, users see five-word summaries from potential matches. Pressing and holding on a profile reveals the person’s photo, creating a blind-date dynamic that gives both parties intentionally limited information about who they’re matching with. These words can reflect personality, mood, or random details about a person’s hobbies, giving each user the freedom to express themselves in a highly pared-down way.
Inspired by the Webby Awards’ five-word speech limit and the concise wordplay of Wordle, LoveJack is meant to be a somewhat more casual and user-specific take on conventional online dating. As LeStage stated, “This is not LinkedIn. Where has the fun gone?” Key features include daily-updated word entries, an archive of past self-descriptions, and options to “Bet On” or “Hold” a profile. Users can only interact with five profiles daily, encouraging more thoughtful engagement.
Privacy and safety are also baked in. Users can choose pseudonyms, while selfie verification helps confirm identity. Planned safety features include content moderation tools and emergency assistance options, though not all were available during beta testing. When users “Bet” on a profile (the platform’s equivalent to a like), they are forced to send their own five-word opener – in general, the limited amount of words on each interaction provides the matching system with highly clean and straightforward data about each user.
LoveJack’s iOS app is expected to launch next month in London, with U.S. expansion to follow in cities like Boston and New York. An Android version is slated for release in India later this summer.
