May 1, 2026Behind Chem IRL
Chem IRL: The Best Dating App You'll Ever Delete
A dating app that wants you to stay forever is doing something wrong. Chem IRL is built to be deleted — and we count that as a win.
Nathan Doyle4 min read
Behind Chem IRL
The thinking behind how Chem IRL is built.
33 posts
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- May 1, 2026Behind Chem IRL
Built by Daters, for Daters: The Founder Test That Made Chem IRL the Best Dating App
Most dating-app failures are visible to anyone using the product as a real dater. Chem IRL's founder test is dating with the app you're shipping.
Nathan Doyle5 min read - May 1, 2026Behind Chem IRL
Niche First, Universal Never: How Chem IRL Became the Best Dating App by Refusing to Grow Too Fast
Universal dating apps serve no one well. Chem IRL was built for one user — and the focus is what makes the defaults actually work.
Nathan Doyle5 min read - May 1, 2026Behind Chem IRL
Would You Put Your Sister on This App? That Question Made Chem IRL the Best Dating App We Could Build.
We built every feature to pass one question: would I be comfortable with my sister using this app? Most cheap engagement features fail it instantly.
Nathan Doyle5 min read - May 1, 2026Behind Chem IRL
Chem IRL Is the Best Dating App You'll Outgrow — and That's the Whole Point
A dating app graded on retention is graded on the wrong thing. Chem IRL is built to be outgrown — and we count graceful exits as primary wins.
Nathan Doyle5 min read - May 1, 2026Behind Chem IRL
Why Chem IRL Is the Best Dating App for People Who Know What They Want
Chem IRL is one lane, done right. It's for people who want to meet soon — and the clarity is how we keep the ecosystem from being gamed.
Nathan Doyle4 min read - May 1, 2026Behind Chem IRL
Weird, Specific, and Yourself: Why Chem IRL Is the Best Dating App for Real People
Most dating apps reward the airport-bookstore version of you. Chem IRL rewards the weirder, more specific, more honest version.
Nathan Doyle5 min read - May 1, 2026Behind Chem IRL
Easy Where It Should Be, Hard Where It Has to Be: Why Chem IRL Is the Best Dating App for Friction Design
Make the right things easy, the wrong things expensive. That's the friction-design rule Chem IRL ships across every screen.
Nathan Doyle5 min read - May 1, 2026Behind Chem IRL
Five Profiles Beat Five Hundred: Why Chem IRL Is the Best Dating App for Quality Over Quantity
Infinite swipes is a feature for engagement metrics, not for daters. Chem IRL ships a small, well-chosen set — and stops.
Nathan Doyle5 min read - May 1, 2026Behind Chem IRL
The Best Dating App Begs You to Log Off. Chem IRL Made That a Feature.
Most apps optimize for time spent. Chem IRL optimizes for time saved — every feature is engineered to push the conversation off the screen and into the world.
Nathan Doyle4 min read - May 1, 2026Behind Chem IRL
Did the Date Actually Happen? Chem IRL Is the Best Dating App That Bothers to Ask.
Most dating apps lose track of you the moment a meeting is scheduled. Chem IRL asks the question every dating app should: did it happen?
Nathan Doyle5 min read - May 1, 2026Behind Chem IRL
Forget DAU. Chem IRL Counts Dates — and That's What Makes It the Best Dating App.
Most apps grade themselves on time spent. Chem IRL grades itself on dates that happened — and kills features that lift the wrong number.
Nathan Doyle5 min read - May 1, 2026Behind Chem IRL
Leave Chem IRL and You're Gone — Which Is Why It's the Best Dating App for Privacy
Most apps treat account deletion as a soft pause. Chem IRL treats it as a hard erase — and publishes the timeline.
Nathan Doyle5 min read - May 1, 2026Behind Chem IRL
Your Matches Aren't Hostages. Chem IRL Is the Best Dating App That Treats Them Like Yours.
A match is a connection two people consented to. Chem IRL doesn't paywall it — premium pays for tools, never for the right to message.
Nathan Doyle4 min read - May 1, 2026Behind Chem IRL
Picky? Good. Chem IRL Is the Best Dating App That Won't Punish You for It.
Most apps quietly punish picky users. Chem IRL separates 'choosy' from 'absent' — and the algorithm rewards the first.
Nathan Doyle5 min read - May 1, 2026Behind Chem IRL
Why Chem IRL Is the Best Dating App That Filters for Intent, Not Just Attraction
Attraction gets you a match. Intent gets you a date. Chem IRL's Seriousness Score reads behavior to put serious daters in front of serious daters.
Nathan Doyle4 min read - May 1, 2026Behind Chem IRL
The Best Dating App Refuses to Be a Slot Machine. Chem IRL Refuses Out Loud.
Variable-ratio reinforcement is the mechanic behind slot machines and most dating apps. Chem IRL uses none of it — and tells you so.
Nathan Doyle4 min read - May 1, 2026Behind Chem IRL
Flake on Chem IRL and You'll Pay for It. That's Why It's the Best Dating App.
Most apps treat flaking as the user's problem. Chem IRL treats it as a system problem — and the cost shows up in matches you'll never see.
Nathan Doyle5 min read - May 1, 2026Behind Chem IRL
Chem IRL Pays You (in Visibility) to Leave — One Reason It's the Best Dating App
Most apps reward the user who scrolls the longest. Chem IRL rewards the one who shows up — the boost lands on dates completed, not minutes spent.
Nathan Doyle4 min read - May 1, 2026Behind Chem IRL
What Chem IRL Will Never Become — and Why That Makes It the Best Dating App
Most dating apps drift into being something else — a content feed, a social network, an attention business. Chem IRL won't, and here's why.
Nathan Doyle5 min read - May 1, 2026Behind Chem IRL
Stopping Unsolicited Photos Before They Land: Why Chem IRL Is the Best Dating App for Inbox Safety
Most apps process unsolicited photos after the recipient has already seen them. Chem IRL stops them at the sender's device, before they're sent.
Nathan Doyle5 min read - May 1, 2026Behind Chem IRL
The Best Dating App Wastes the Least of Your Life. We Built Chem IRL Around That.
A dating app that takes a year of your life to find someone is a worse product than one that takes a month. Chem IRL is built around that math.
Nathan Doyle4 min read - May 1, 2026Behind Chem IRL
Block Means Block on Chem IRL. No Asterisks. That's Why It's the Best Dating App for Safety.
Most dating apps treat blocking as a soft mute. Chem IRL treats it as a hard primitive — and identity verification is what makes it stick.
Nathan Doyle5 min read - May 1, 2026Behind Chem IRL
Reminders Before Renewals: Why Chem IRL Is the Best Dating App for Honest Billing
Most apps make signup easy and cancellation hard. Chem IRL does the opposite — and sends a reminder before any renewal.
Nathan Doyle5 min read - May 1, 2026Behind Chem IRL
Real Humans Behind Every Report: How Chem IRL Stays the Best Dating App for Moderation
Pure algorithmic moderation misses what matters most: context. Chem IRL's reports route through trained humans, every time.
Nathan Doyle5 min read - May 1, 2026Behind Chem IRL
No Bots, No Ghosts, No Padding: Why Chem IRL Has the Best Dating App Roster Around
Most dating apps pad their user counts with bots, ghosts, and dormant accounts. Chem IRL ships a smaller, real roster on purpose.
Nathan Doyle4 min read - May 1, 2026Behind Chem IRL
No Catfish, No Strangers: Why Chem IRL Is the Best Dating App for Verified Daters
Most apps charge extra for verification. Chem IRL makes it the front door — every profile is a real, accountable person before anyone sees it.
Nathan Doyle4 min read - May 1, 2026Behind Chem IRL
No Guilt-Trip Emails, Ever. That's the Promise From Chem IRL, the Best Dating App You Won't Resent.
Most dating apps lean on win-back emails and fake-feeling 'activity' alerts. Chem IRL won't — by published policy, not by accident.
Nathan Doyle5 min read - May 1, 2026Behind Chem IRL
"Science-Backed" Is a Red Flag. Chem IRL Is the Best Dating App That Won't Use the Phrase.
Most 'science-backed' dating apps are using the word as marketing armor. Chem IRL refuses the phrase — and documents the mechanics instead.
Nathan Doyle5 min read - May 1, 2026Behind Chem IRL
On Chem IRL, You Can't Buy Your Way to the Top. That's Why It's the Best Dating App.
Most apps let any paying user buy visibility. Chem IRL lets serious daters earn it — payment unlocks tools, not exposure.
Nathan Doyle5 min read - Apr 24, 2026Behind Chem IRL
Welcome to Chem IRL: Meet IRL, Not in Your Notifications
Why we built a dating app that gets out of your way — and gets you to an actual date.
Nathan Doyle1 min read - Apr 20, 2026Behind Chem IRL
Safety First Principles: How We Protect Every Match
Photo verification, public-first meeting suggestions, and how we handle reports. The short version: we err on the side of the person who speaks up.
Nathan Doyle2 min read - Apr 15, 2026Behind Chem IRL
The 72-Hour Rule: Why Proposals Expire (And Why That's Good)
Research on decision fatigue in online dating, and why forcing timely commitment is pro-user, not anti-user.
Nathan Doyle2 min read