The new dating app from Betches lets your friends swipe for you

Updated

If you have ever sent your group chat of BFFs a screenshot of your latest match on a dating app or have had to poll your squad on what the perfect opening line is to send to the new cutie you're swiping on, then it's time for you to download Ship.

From the minds of the Betches, the media group behind the hilarious and brutally honest blog of the same name, the book "I Had a Nice Time And Other Lies..." and the popular relationship advice podcast U Up?, comes a dating app that brings your friends into the mix to help you find your next date.

"With Ship, friends can set each other (or themselves) up — because who knows you better than your friends?" But don't worry, while your friends that are already in relationships can swipe for you, their app experience will look a little different to make sure that it's all about you, the dater!

We caught up with the three women behind Betches, Aleen Kuperman, Samantha Fishbein and Jordana Abraham, to find out how this idea of a group chat upgrade got started.

AOL: How did you ladies come up with the idea for Ship?

Betches: "We built this company in 2011 and have been lifelong friends. We’ve grown up and really have gone through every phase of life, including dating, [together], and it's what our audience has always really asked us about. Then a while ago we got together with [Match Group’s CEO Mandy Ginsberg] to talk about the dating space and what was missing from it. And we were talking about how we go through all of these aspects of life with our friends and we're always looping them in, and the dating apps that were out there didn’t really reflect that -- and that's how the idea of Ship was born, which brings your friends back into the mix and really takes away from the isolation that a lot of people feel when they’re dating. It really makes dating more social and fun than it was before."

Why do you think having your friends swipe for you will work and create more connections?

"There's the aspect that your friends know you in some ways even better than you could know what you want. If they’ve seen you dating for a while and they know what kind of [people] have worked out for you -- or not -- that aspect really deepens the relationships. And it makes for like a good story if it does work out!"

What do you think makes an awesome dating profile?

"I think it's important that [your profile] actually reflects who you are. I think a lot of people go in and try to be someone that they think people will like and they misrepresent themselves, whether by using older pictures which aren’t reflective of what they currently look like or maybe they're trying too hard to project a certain image... I think it's really important to put your true authentic self out there because that's what's really going to get you the matches that are going to last and that are actually going to be good for you, because you’re showing who you actually are instead of what you want people to think you’re like."

On the flip side, what do you think are some red flags or things people should avoid on their own and other people's profiles?

"I would say to avoid using older pictures. Use something you feel really looks like you right now or what's the point? You want the person to see who you are right now, not who you were five years ago at a certain angle that you thought looked really good. Also, I think that having all group shots is a red flag, sunglasses in every picture, excessive selfies or [only pictures with] angles that look a little bit suspicious."

What advice would you give to someone who is nervous to start using dating apps?

"We think that Ship is sort of the perfect jump into dating apps. We feel like Ship is sort of the perfect place to start because you can do it with your friends, it doesn’t have to feel isolating and weird. And there's way less pressure because you can look at it as just kind of a fun social thing you're doing with your friends rather than a high stakes thing that if you don’t get a date from it or enough matches, you don’t have to feel as much pressure because it's not only about that. It's also supposed to be about the fun of dating."

You can download Ship here.

This interview has been edited and condensed

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