Since the dawn of time-or since the dawn of eHarmony, either one-developers have focused on trying to make dating apps a little less creepy for women, largely to no avail
“We’ve discovered that when it comes to dating apps, men will go anywhere where women go, but women won’t go anywhere men go unless it’s worth their time,” says Sarah Cardey, the director of operations and marketing for Wyldfire. “But if women are the ones creating the community and are accountable for the type of people they let in, we feel like we could make a dating app women can be proud of.”
This is the guiding principle behind Wyldfire (yes, “wild” is spelled with a “y,” a la “Wyld Stallyns” from Bill and Ted), a mobile dating app set to launch early next month
Unlike Tinder and other dating apps, which have no screening processes to filter out crotch shot-requesting creepsters, Wyldfire automatically filters out weirdos by having female users select men to invite to the app (you can invite users anonymously if you so choose by sending them a “feather,” or request to join, via Facebook or e-mail).
Wyldfire’s invite-only feature is intended to create an “exclusive community” of highly desirable single men. But to me, it begged the obvious question: What is the incentive, if any, for women to recommend their friends to Wyldfire in the first place? For instance, if I were a single woman using the app, and I had a desirable single male friend, I’d probably want to keep him for myself rather than toss him to the hordes of single ladies on Wyldfire. Continue reading