Match Has Launched a New Dating App for Single Parents Called Stir

Monday, March 21 was National Single Parents Day. It was also the day Match Group—the company behind dating services including Tinder, Match, Hinge, OKCupid and more—launched Stir, a new dating app specifically for single parents. According to a 2019 study from Pew Research Center, America has the world’s highest rate of kids living in single-parent households.

The app’s main goal is to destigmatize dating as a single parent and make the experience easier and more enjoyable. Stir matches people not only based on their personality and values, but also by their schedules. The app has a feature called Stir Time, which helps parents display when they’re available. Many parents operate based on their kids’ schedules, leaving little room for flexibility in their own free time.

According to Dinh Thi Bui, vice president of new verticals at Match Group, year after year the company was finding through surveys and interviews that single parents were having a tough time dating. Plus, after watching his sister struggle with dating as a single parent, he wanted to find a way to help. According to a survey done by Match Group, most single parents are “ghosted” after the first date.

“They felt stigmatized in the dating world, like it is a turn-off to disclose they have children. We also saw that single parents naturally gravitate towards other single parents because they didn’t have to explain their constraints as they were in the same stage of life,” he told CNN Business. “I wanted to build a supportive community that catered to single parents like her and make it easier for them to connect without fear of judgment. [These] members don’t have to second guess if it will be an issue to disclose they have kids, or that they might have to cancel a date because they couldn’t find a babysitter."

The app is now available to download.