What Happened to the Ship Dating App? How It Worked and What to Use Instead

Ship was one of the more playful experiments in dating apps: instead of swiping alone, you added your friends and let them do some of the matchmaking. It came out of a partnership between Match Group, the company behind Tinder, the biggest swipe app, and the women’s media brand Betches. This page explains what Ship was, how it worked, why it closed and what to use now.

Ship at a glance

What was Ship?

Ship was a free dating app launched in early 2019 that let you bring your friends into your dating life. Match Group supplied the dating technology and Betches, known for its humour-driven social media, came up with the idea and handled the branding and marketing. The pitch was simple: your friends know your type better than an algorithm, so let them help.

It was one of several attempts to make dating apps feel more social. Like the closed app covered in our explainer on what happened to Clover, Ship had a distinctive idea but never reached the scale of the big swipe apps.

How did Ship work?

1. You downloaded Ship and set your preferences for gender, age range and distance.
2. You invited friends to join your “Crew”, who could see profiles that fit your preferences.
3. Crew members swiped on your behalf and could send promising profiles to a shared group chat.
4. You and your friends discussed potential matches in the Crew chat and activity feed.
5. As on other apps, you could only message someone after a mutual like, and your Crew could see that a chat had started but could not read your private messages.

Ship’s features

Ship timeline

Why did Ship shut down?

Ship shut down because it never grew into a large, self-sustaining user base. Match Group did not publish a detailed reason, but around the same time its leadership said on an earnings call that the company would focus on brands that were growing and pull back in areas that were not driving growth. A free app with no paid tier and a niche, friends-first concept was a natural candidate to cut.

What worked and what didn’t

What to use instead of Ship

The best replacement for Ship is a mainstream app plus your real friends: share screenshots, ask for opinions, or hand over your phone for a swipe session. Bumble’s women-led first moves and Coffee Meets Bagel’s small daily batches both lend themselves to that kind of group review.

If you liked Ship because it felt social, Bumble’s women-first approach e Coffee Meets Bagel’s daily curated matches are the closest in spirit, and Happn’s crossed-paths matching adds a real-world twist.

Safety tips when friends help you date

Getting friends involved can make dating safer, as long as everyone respects privacy.

• Do not share other people’s photos or chats outside your group without their consent.
• Let a friend know where and when you are meeting a match.
• Use video calls to confirm someone is real before meeting.
• Never send money to someone you met on a dating app.
• 18+ only. Dating apps are for adults.

And if you would rather meet someone new face to face right now, our free cam chat with strangers needs no sign-up (18+).

Frequently asked questions

Is the Ship dating app still available?

No. Ship is no longer available on the app stores. Dating-industry coverage reports that it stopped being available in 2022.

How did the Ship dating app work?

You invited friends into a Crew who could swipe on profiles for you and share picks in a group chat. You could only message someone after a mutual like, and your friends could not read your private messages.

Who made the Ship app?

Ship was created by Match Group, which supplied the technology, and the media brand Betches, which came up with the concept and handled marketing.

Why did Ship shut down?

Match Group did not give a detailed reason, but it said it would focus on growing brands and pull back from areas that were not driving growth. Ship was free and never reached a large user base.

Was Ship free?

Yes. Ship was free to use and had no premium subscription.

What is the best alternative to Ship?

Use a mainstream app such as Bumble, Tinder or Coffee Meets Bagel and ask friends to review profiles with you. That recreates Ship’s group feel with a much bigger pool.

The bottom line

Ship was a clever, friendly idea: let the people who know you best help you swipe. It launched in early 2019 from Match Group and Betches, stayed free and never reached the scale it needed, and it was gone by late 2022. Today, the closest experience is using Bumble, Tinder or Coffee Meets Bagel with your friends weighing in.