A first-of-its-kind dating app has launched in Austin, Texas, and provides users with a unique experience. The app, Desti, uses date destinations as a filter for creating matches and hosts short-form videos of destinations in Austin, according to an August press release from the company.
“Desti wants to bridge the gap between matching with someone and never conversing with them and help foster real relationships,” the press release reads.
Users can identify where and when they want to meet in their city to find potential matches. It was designed to cut out the “small talk” that typically comes before a first date. Once users put in their filters, they will see other users with the same filters applied.
The company was founded in Austin, and the app is currently only available there. It will feature short videos of local businesses, allowing users to learn more about destinations in the city.
“Desti’s mission to shift online dating towards in-person dating is a change we can all get behind,” Julia Chesbrough, a designer at Desti, stated in the press release. Chesbrough previously worked as a designer for the Hinge dating app.
“When I heard that Desti wanted to bring people off of their phones and into the real world, pushing people to meet their matches in real life, I was really excited. Having worked in the dating app industry before, I knew just how difficult it was to motivate people to get outside their comfort zones and onto a date.”
John Taylor, the CEO of Desti, shared that dating apps have not evolved as fast as other types of social media.
“It’s been about 10 years since dating apps like Tinder and Bumble emerged. In that time, the landscape of social media has evolved, but they haven’t as much. We feel that Desti creates a new lane and is positioned for this generation of users,” Taylor said.
Other popular dating apps used today, such as Hinge, rely on matching people based on similar interests or mutual attraction.
Hinge was created in collaboration with behavioral analysts and lab researchers to better match users together, according to the company’s website. Users answer prompts and questions in order to see how compatible they are with other users they like.
The Hinge dating app advertises itself as the “dating app designed to be deleted.”
Even 10 years after its launch, Tinder is still widely seen as one of the top dating apps, according to The List. However, some users report not being happy with the app due to never getting past small talk with matches or experiencing low self-esteem.
Tinder users swipe left or right on other users’ profiles, depending on whether they want to match. When two users “like” each other, they will match and can start a conversation.
Hinge and Tinder were ranked among the top 10 dating apps for 2022 by CNET and PC Mag.
The Desti app officially launched in the app store on July 31. It is available for smartphone users in the Austin area on iOS.