Stop swiping, start talking: the rise and rise of the blind dating app

Call them crazy, but more and more online daters are choosing to start conversations without vetting each other's profile pictures. It's almost as if looks aren't the only thing that matters!

If speed dating mixed with blind dating sounds like your idea of hell, look away now. Ten years since dating app Tinder first encouraged users to swipe through potential partners based largely on their looks, some singles are doing away with profile photos altogether. In the absence of Cilla and our Graham", those looking for love are turning instead to a new cohort of blind dating apps" in the hope of making more meaningful connections.

I'm already on Tinder, Badoo, Bumble, Hinge - all of them!" says Victoria Brown, a 26-year-old client success manager from Upminster, east London. A blind dating app seemed like a good idea because usually you think: Oh, he's really good-looking' but then, when you start talking, the chat's not that good. Not seeing what someone looks like, at least at first, gives it a bit of a twist - although I was nervous about the reveal."