Free non-profit dating site

From r/SomebodyMakeThis · originally by u/Hinkelmeier · January 2, 2026

I see there are a lot of problems when it comes to dating sites or apps. Why can't someone just build one that unites all the good things like: \- its free but u can donate \- there's no swiping, just profiles with people near your location, no algorithm \- you have to have a profile text wich people have to read before they can send you a text (or sth similar, i don't have a plan on how to do that yet) \- avoiding that some users drown in messages (still no solution, just the goal) \- no scammers or inappropriate behaviour, maybe use votekick? I'm from Germany and mostly on kinky apps like Fet (not Fetlife) and Joyce, also Tinder. I'm doing quite OK, but **ONLY** if i have the "premium" version, what enables sending messages, wich should always be a basic feature in my opinion.

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Discussion(4)

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u/dontreadthis_toolateon 1/2/2026

Bro, there's so many liabilities with these. What happens if someone gets kidnapped or even worse while using the app? They'd get sued for sure.

u/heesellon 1/2/2026

Running an app on donations only won't last. Let's say that it becomes super popular, then you need a team for maintenance, updates, hosting the app (servers, database, domain, 3rd party services), new features maybe and more. You would need full-time jobs to keep it going which donations aren't going to cover.

u/Acceptable_Reason_70on 1/5/2026

Instead you can keep it free and run it on brand endorsements , users donations , ad space for rent

u/jhancock532on 1/6/2026

I've been thinking about this for a while and it's definitely doable. I ended up making [bristol.social](http://bristol.social) instead as a side project as it's closer to my programming skill set & costs nothing to host; it's a non-profit site that lists social groups in my city in one easy to search place. This website really should be an inbuilt feature of Facebook, Instagram or Meetup, but these platforms are a walled garden and won't allow crossover as they can't make money that way.