Pure: An Anonymous, Discreet Dating App for Hookups
Is Tinder too slow? It's hard to imagine an app with a simple swipe-left functionality as "too complicated" but the up-and-coming PURE dating service advertises more bang for your buck (pun intended). What do you need to sign up? Only a photo of yourself and BOOM: you're on the market. No phone number, no e-mail, no Facebook, and no name required. For an hour your information is publicized to others in your location (50 km/31 miles) with the sole intent of setting up right-now, real-time meetings. After that hour expires, all chat history and all photos self-destruct. Sound too intense? Oh wait, there's more...
Pure may have a basic set-up, but it comes heavily equipped with a sexual philosophy that resists the status-quo of monogamous relationships. After the Ashley Madison data breach caught the world's attention and forced every user to face the utter terror of losing their reputation, their career, and their "healthy" personal lives in one fatal sweep, PURE used this moment of weakness as a marketing opportunity. They released a statement saying:
As radical as this approach may sound, its popularity is growing. The top five cities where the app is most used include Moscow, New York, London, Los Angeles, and Mexico City. Perhaps the lure comes from its original slogan of "Sex Here and Now." Nonetheless, the concept of PURE, which was developed in 2012 by Roman Sidorenko and Alexander Kukhtenko, is to promote open sexuality and is still being utilized. @thepureapp's Twitter bio reads: "Zero-effort hook-up hunting. Minimum communication, maximum sexiness."
The target audience is anyone 18+ who's willing to start paying after the first 7-day trial period at $4.99 weekly, $19.99 monthly, or $29.99 biannually. Price too steep? Just half a year ago the site boasted of making 1 million connections - so someone's buying (though we don't know who they are). It is possible that the ease of the app is making up for the price as it's been dubbed the "Uber for dates." After submitting your request, you're invited to click "yes" or "no way." If it's a mutual attraction, the messaging option is then enabled to set up a meeting point. The goal is to encourage as much real-life interaction as possible without lingering on the app (hence the zealous, spontaneous hook-up philosophy).
With every new bit of technology, there are a few hick-ups: due to the hourly refresh policy, there aren't many users on at any given time. Not only that, but with very little information given other then photo and location, this app seems to be a bit of ticking time-bomb before an under-the-radar get together turns into a front page missing persons story. But, being only four years old, PURE has time to make an impression on the world. Whether it makes it to celebration and fascination or hovers awkwardly in the realm of curiosity and repulsion is yet to be determined.
