Written by Ihyeon Rha
Illustrated by Anonymous
October 6, 2026 saw the launch of the anonymously created LSE Dating App, open to LSE undergraduates and postgraduates aged 18 to 35 interested in beginning a romantic relationship.
The LSE Dating App is not a dating app in the traditional sense, involving no swiping, curated profiles, app downloads or messaging. Users verify their identities through a selfie and fill in a questionnaire of around fifty questions, and the app matches two people on a date if they are found to be compatible.
Questions include the participant’s gender and degree programme, as well as other standard dating app questions on hobbies and lifestyle. According to the founders of the app, matches are then made by an AI algorithm, “built on psychological research into what makes people compatible”, and there is an “[anonymised] human review process before matches are sent out”. So far, there has already been a positive testimonial that has resulted from a successful first date through the app’s matchmaking.
The app’s creators explained their decision to create an LSE-exclusive dating app as an attempt to “end [social] isolation”. While the LSE provides a plethora of options for students to meet new people every day, the developers of the app felt that socialising got increasingly more difficult as the freshers’ frenzy of the first few months wore off. “People settle into cliques, and saying ‘hi’ to a stranger seems socially illegal. We’ve sat in common rooms where nobody spoke to anyone. In lectures, people (the few who still show up) spread out like they’re social distancing, and in classes, most people only talk to you if a group project forces them to,” they remarked.
Furthermore, the developers wanted to create an alternative, more genuine dating app where users would not have to worry about commodifying themselves with basic one-liners to appeal to potential matches. Thus, instead of getting several matches at a time, users only get at most one match per week.
Currently, in order to prevent an overflow of users on the app, it is only letting in fifty more people each week. This is done to steadily improve the app while preventing any potential malfunctions that might happen with a rushed launch. Although the app expects to gradually expand the number of new users, there is now a waitlist of more than two hundred people. The waiting list also operates on a referral reward system where people can move up five spots of the waitlist with each friend that they invite using their referral link.
There are, however, some potential concerns regarding the app. For example, the user’s date of birth, phone number and ethnicity are included in the questionnaire, posing queries regarding the amount of personal information collected by the app developers. In response to this, the LSE Dating App has stated that their privacy policy clarifies how personal data is handled, and that data is anonymised before being reviewed by their human team.
Another concern is regarding the safety of the app. Although the users of the app are verified LSE students, there are no external regulatory measures, which can be a concern for potential users. According to the developers, “If someone reports a serious incident, we prioritise their safety, urgently review the report, and can suspend or permanently remove the reported person from the app where appropriate. We also direct students to LSE’s Report + Support service and the appropriate authorities, so they can access the professional support and care they deserve from people who are properly trained to help.”
