No more endless swiping? GovTech sets public officers up on a FirstDate

Singapore's Government Technology Agency (GovTech) is playing cupid with FirstDate, a new dating platform that swaps endless swiping for one carefully selected match at a time.

Currently being piloted among public officers aged 21 to 35, FirstDate is a Singpass-verified initiative designed to support singles in their dating journey through matches based on compatibility, values and preferences. Applications for the current pilot close on 5 October.

Rather than presenting users with a stream of profiles to swipe through, FirstDate gives participants one recommended match per matchmaking cycle, an approach it says gives users more space to focus on building a thoughtful connection. According to GovTech, a cycle takes place approximately once a month.

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Users begin by completing a questionnaire covering their interests, habits, values and preferences. The platform then applies the "Gale-Shapley stable marriage" algorithm, an established mathematical approach that generates pairings based on participants' preferences, to recommend compatible matches.

Each recommended match comes with a compatibility score, information about the person and a personal note. Once a match has been made, both users receive an SMS and have three days, or 72 hours, to decide whether they would like to connect. Contact details are only shared when both parties accept the match.

Privacy is also built into the platform's proposition. A user's profile is only visible to their assigned match, while Singpass is used to verify eligibility, including age, marital status and government agency.

GovTech said this provides greater assurance that participants are real individuals who meet the requirements of the pilot.

For those who decide to meet in person, FirstDate also offers "Date quests", suggested activities intended to help break the ice.

Afterwards, users receive a short survey asking about their experience, including whether they exchanged contact details and met in person, with the feedback used to improve subsequent iterations of the platform.

The idea for FirstDate began among a group of GovTech officers questioning whether having more potential matches necessarily makes finding a suitable partner easier. The team explored whether placing greater emphasis on compatibility while offering fewer matches could give singles more room to consider each introduction.

The concept was subsequently explored at GovTech Singapore's annual {build} hackathon, where officers develop and test new ideas, before becoming a ground-up pilot tested across the Public Service.

For now, GovTech has not decided whether FirstDate will move beyond its pilot stage or eventually be expanded to the wider public. The agency said feedback and insights gathered during the pilot will help its team understand what works and where the experience can be improved.

The FirstDate pilot comes amid other efforts in Singapore to encourage singles to take a more intentional approach to dating. Earlier this year, Coffee Meets Bagel (CMB) partnered SG Culture Pass (SGCP) on a year-long collaboration encouraging singles to connect through arts and cultural experiences. Anchored by the theme "Date with intention: Culture brings us closer", the partnership positions workshops, performances, museums and heritage spaces as alternatives to traditional dinner or café dates.

Through the tie-up, singles can use their SG$100 SG Culture Pass credits on eligible activities, with the collaboration aiming to make cultural and activity-based dates more accessible while spotlighting distinctly Singaporean experiences.

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