String is a new dating app and contact is purely through voice notes

Before lockdown, the biggest dating annoyances were the awful trends, from ghosting to zombieing to dogfishing (pretty harmless, but seriously misleading). And then 2020 happened, and it threw a gigantic spanner in the works for anyone trying to find a love interest.

However, if this year has taught us anything about finding a potential partner, it's that you don't necessarily need to fork out on dates to get to know someone. Thanks to the wonder that is Zoom, many singles were instead video calling each other to work out if there was a spark and many new relationships have blossomed, apparently. The usual dating apps also added a number of functions, including video chat and calls, to connect people while we were apart.

If you weren't that keen on chatting to a stranger over video, you might have ditched the dating scene altogether.

But a new app is here to help those who don't necessarily want to communicate via camera, but want to see if there's more chemistry than simply swiping through and trying to keep a conversation going through messages.

String hopes to change how you date by matching singles by 'dating with your voice'. When you connect with someone, you must send each other recorded voice notes if you want to chat.

Interesting.

Co-founder Tinashe told The Tab: 'The idea came about as a result of using dating apps and realising it's pretty difficult to get your whole personality across through text messages.

'Texting a friend is easy and feels natural because you already know them and understand their personality, sarcasm and jokes. But doing the same with a stranger you've never spoken with is a lot more difficult.

'So why not do the natural thing and use your voice to communicate? We think voice notes allow people to show their true personality in a much more fun and impactful way.'

While we were busy using text talk like 'WYUT' and 'Cu l8r' as teenagers, the founders are targeting students as sending voice notes is the most popular way of communicating when it comes to Gen Z.

Of course, things might get a little long winded if you match with a chatterbox - but it's worth a try, right?

Jadie Troy-Pryde is News Editor, covering celebrity and entertainment, royal, lifestyle and viral news. Before joining the team in 2018 as the Lifestyle and Social Media Editor, she worked at a number of women’s fashion and lifestyle titles including Grazia, Women’s Health and Stylist, and now heads the Marie Claire UK news desk.