Susie Lee and Katrina Hess, the founders of a new dating app called Siren, want to "fight the swipe."
Unlike other popular apps like Tinder, Bumble, and Hinge, Siren doesn't encourage you to swipe through people's photos. Instead, there's a daily open-ended question that users answer, and their responses are displayed on a feed.
The idea for Siren was inspired by their frustration with other dating apps, the majority of which were created by men. Lee and Hess, who are both women of color, believe that Siren offers a different perspective on how people can meet — or, at the very least, doesn't objectify people as much.
"The swiping interaction is fun, but when you apply that to people, you're reducing people to objects. Whether it's shoes or humans, you can do the same interaction: push them away or pull them closer," Lee tells Business Insider. "We want to fight this idea that you're shopping for humans."
The app, which launched in late 2015, is only available in Seattle and New York City. With more funding, its founders eventually hope to expand nationwide.
Here's what it's like.
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Siren is available on iOS and Android. After I downloaded it, I signed up and connected it with my Facebook account.
The next screen told me that Siren was not like most dating apps. The central idea is to answer daily questions and send people connection requests instead of swiping through photos.
Next, I set up my profile. Siren said I could blur my photo for extra privacy, an option the founders say will promote safety on the app. I could also add a cover photo (similar to Facebook) and choose a username.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider