A new dating app, Cosmic, aims to disrupt the online dating scene by offering essential features for free—such as viewing who likes you and retracting your last swipe—while helping users craft profiles that genuinely reflect their personalities through engaging personality quizzes and advanced machine learning technology.
Now publicly available, Cosmic is the inaugural offering from Friendly Apps, a startup founded by seasoned engineer and product designer Michael Sayman, who secured $3 million in seed funding to launch the app.
Sayman's journey as an app developer began in his youth, a story he shares in his book, “App Kid.” This background led him to significant roles at major companies including Facebook, Google, Roblox, and most recently, Twitter, where he focused on developing products aimed at teenagers, prior to Elon Musk’s acquisition. After the transition at Twitter stalled his projects, Sayman was inspired to pursue his own venture.
The mission behind Friendly Apps is to create a suite of applications rooted in values that prioritize user well-being, contrasting starkly with many contemporary social platforms that can be detrimental to mental health. Sayman sees the online dating landscape as a key area of frustration for users, emphasizing that while today’s apps may have user-friendly interfaces, they often fall short in truly connecting people.
“It’s common for me to go on dates and find that the person isn’t what I expected due to the superficial nature of profiles on many dating apps,” Sayman notes. “Most of us don’t convey our true selves; we just post photos and a brief bio,” he adds.
Cosmic seeks to change this narrative. Rather than having users manually fill out bios, the app employs a personality quiz that poses simple questions such as “What do you enjoy doing in your free time?” “What matters most to you in life?” and “What are your future dreams?” The responses remain private and are not made public. Once completed, the app utilizes the answers to generate a comprehensive profile through machine learning capabilities.
Sayman developed this concept from his own experience, acknowledging that many struggle to articulate their personalities in traditional bios. He recognized the potential for a more effective approach where users provide open-ended quiz responses, which ML technology can then translate into complete profiles.
Cosmic analyzes the personality traits derived from the words used in the quiz, along with interesting prompts—such as which popular song embodies your life, what keys unlock your heart, and identifying your greatest strength.
“The exciting part is that it reveals more about a person than most of us would typically express,” Sayman explains.
Unlike platforms like eHarmony that also utilize quizzes but rely on comparative matching, Cosmic focuses on using the user's quiz responses to curate a unique profile and generate prompts similar to those on Hinge.
Sayman single-handedly coded and designed the app, employing a blend of open-source and proprietary technologies. Importantly, he emphasizes that AI does not generate complete bios, which he finds disingenuous.
“They don’t resonate. It feels somewhat dishonest,” he states concerning AI-crafted bios. Instead, Cosmic offers a collection of prompts and personality tags, such as “creative,” “tech-savvy,” “ambitious,” and “family-oriented” to help users express their individuality.
Beyond the unique quiz features, Cosmic stands out by eliminating charges for functions like retracting accidental swipes or checking who has liked you.
“There are no boosts, no subscriptions, and no ads,” Sayman asserts. However, users can still enjoy essential features like photo uploads, blocking and reporting, and various spam prevention measures.
Curious about how Cosmic will monetize in the future? Sayman intends to explore that pathway once the app has established its effectiveness.
Currently, Cosmic is available in the United States, Peru (where Sayman’s parents are from), Colombia, and several countries in South America and Europe. Prior to its public launch, it was trialed with a select group of beta users.
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