Singapore launches government dating app as birth rate plunges

Singapore’s government — long known for unabashed involvement in social behavior and private life — rolled out a pilot matchmaking service this month, as the country’s birth rate dwindles.

The app, called FirstDate, is open for now to government employees between 21 and 35. It uses the Nobel-recognized Gale-Shapley matching algorithm, in true technocratic form, to create pairings. Prospective lovebirds will be offered one match at a time, in contrast to mass-market dating apps like Tinder and Hinge, along with a “compatibility score.”