The dating app that killed chat so you can talk in real life

For hookups, there’s Tinder. But for serious relationships, there isn’t an obvious go-to app, especially in Asia. LunchClick is an up-and-comer hoping to fill that gap, and it has an unconventional approach.

It takes a few hours for you to go from downloading the app to actually using it. That’s because every profile is exhaustively verified by humans to remove creeps, fakers, and scammers. Users are nudged to include detailed information about themselves, and they must upload real personal photos (cat pics won’t do).

If you’re married, LunchClick keeps you out, unless you can supply your divorce or annulment papers. In Singapore, the app even requires you to key in your identification number, so that it can check against a national marriage database to make sure you’re single.

LunchClick lets you “like” other singles and set up dates. But in a huge departure from the online dating world, you can’t engage in small talk via in-app chat. There’s no endless swiping either, as you only get one match a day.

These measures sound extreme, but if you’re singularly focused on finding a long-term partner, it could be a boon. Chats sometimes result in awkward conversations that sink into silence.

“You just say hi to each other, and then after that ask ‘What are you doing?’, and then it goes downhill from there. Because the chat itself is not very interesting, people would end up not going out, even though if they have had met in person, it would have worked out,” says Violet Lim, CEO of Lunch Actually, the Singapore-headquartered company behind the app.

“Through chat, you don’t really get to know each other very much, because you just end up talking about very everyday, very mundane things. Some people don’t even know what to talk about. So that was the reason we took chat out of the equation.”

Instead of stilted small talk, LunchClick devised a Q&A-style interaction where matches take turns asking questions chosen from a predefined list. These questions touch on interests, values, opinions, and aspirations. Also, limiting the number of profiles you receive forces users to look beyond appearances and evaluate people in their totality.

Once singles express a mutual interest to meet, they can arrange a date. LunchClick recommends restaurants and cafes, and reservations can be made within the app.

It’s all about ushering people as efficiently as possible towards real-world interactions. “With chat it’s not multi-faceted […] you’re not seeing his body language, you’re not seeing her facial expressions,” says Violet, arguing that offline dates are the best way to find out if someone’s a match.

Put a ring on it

If you’re new to Lunch Actually, LunchClick’s approach might sound novel. But it’s an extension of the company’s philosophy.

Seeking a new marriage