Singapore’s government creates a dating app

Singapore’s digital transformation agency, GovTech, is piloting a dating app. GovTech says the app came about after discussions among its staff, who apparently “shared an interest in exploring some of the challenges people can face when meeting someone new.” “They wondered whether a different approach that places greater emphasis on compatibility through values and preferences, and offers fewer matches at a time, could give users more space to consider each introduction and decide whether they would like to take the next step.” The staffers took those ideas to GovTech’s annual hackathon, and the result was “FirstDate,” billed as “An initiative to support singles aged 21-35 in their dating journey.” The app asks users to complete a questionnaire that GovTech says “covers users' interests, habits, values and preferences to curate matches based on compatibility.” “Once completed, leave the matching to us,” the agency urges. …