Sorry ladies, endless photos of you posing in a bikini, basking in front of a picturesque sunset while brandishing a peace sign just won’t do.
A set of snaps from a dude in a gym inviting you to the gun show won’t get you far either.
Vancouver’s newest dating app just won’t have it that way.
Woman using smartphone/Shutterstock
Known as The League, the app for “would-be power couples” launched in Vancouver Oct. 9. Temporary hookups be damned, this invite-only app is for educated professionals who are pre-screened for their level of education, professional title and where they went to school.
The League spokesperson Meredith Davis said 500 Vancouver users were expedited to use the app out of a more than 3,000-person pool of applicants.
“We’re really trying to build this invite type of community where being serious about dating is valued,” Davis said. “The whole waitlist process, which takes about two to sometimes four weeks, is really so that you weed out people who aren’t serious about dating or are just looking for a hook-up app.”
The League is free to download, but only a select chosen few get to use it immediately. Those who don’t want to wait pay a fee to be allowed into the pool.
Once downloaded, most users have to authenticate their profiles with a LinkedIn account, which gives prospective partners a chance to see where you went to school, where you work and the level of education attained.
Income thresholds aren’t a focal point, with Davis saying a carpenter or plumber is just as eligible to get in on the action as a lawyer or doctor. The League’s proprietary algorithm seeks to match people based on mutual interest, professions and photos.
Users can only log in at 5 p.m. to coincide with happy hour and can select between three to five matches per day. Only once someone “hearts” you back — the way interest is indicated in today’s topsy-turvy online world — can you take the chat offline.
Six photos must be uploaded to a profile, but diversity is stressed on this point.
“Someone who has six bikini shots, we reach out to them and let them know that they should try to change some of their photos,” Davis said. “We’re very vocal with our community. I can’t tell you how many men I’ve emailed and said, ‘Listen, I love the keg stand shot but I don’t think it’s going to bode well for your dating life.’”
Founded in 2015, The League tries to differentiate itself from other dating apps by stressing education and long-term relationships over temporary hookups.
Davis said The League has one million users spread across 37 cities in North America, as well as in London and Paris. Toronto and Montreal are the only other Canadian cities in the game at this point, and the average age range is between 25 and 35. Stats provided to the Courier indicate Vancouverites using the app average around 27 years old and come from employment backgrounds with Vancouver Coastal Health, Microsoft and Lululemon.
Davis says she uses the app, as does her 60-year-old mother and company founder Amanda Bradford. All are in long-term, committed relationships.
“We’re very happy and we know a lot of people who are very happy and having babies,” Davis said.
The League is available for iOS and Android.
Happy hearting.
