The dating app Breeze has added sign languages as an option to its “Date Languages.”
Breeze removes the chat function of the app experience. If you match, you fill out a plan for a date, and then the app organizes it for you. The app has arranged over 400,000 dates in the U.S. and Europe since its launch in 2020.
As matches don’t chit-chat before meeting in person, knowing you share a common means of communication is crucial — especially for those who are deaf or hard of hearing. Breeze states in its press release that the sign language matching feature is baked into its matching algorithm, so that it prioritizes matches with overlapping languages.
Credit: Breeze
Breeze users can add sign languages both when they create their initial profile and within the app’s “Date Preferences” tab. It’ll be featured at the top of profiles.
“Our ‘no-chat’ model is about creating genuine, in-person connections. This feature is a vital part of that mission, ensuring that a user’s language preference and ability to communicate is established and matched before the date is even arranged,” Breeze’s head of business development, Marco van der Woude, stated in the press release. “Focusing only on the ‘average’ user means eventually our product won’t work for anyone, because everyone is unique.”