Forget swiping through sun-drenched selfies or trying to decode someone’s “two truths and a lie.” A new experimental dating site called Browser Dating wants to match you with your soulmate using the most brutally honest data source there is: your search history.
Yes, really.
The platform asks users to upload their 5,000 most recent searches – no cherry-picking allowed – which an AI then transforms into a “browsing personality profile.” Whether you’ve spent the last month Googling “is my cat plotting against me” or deep-diving into conspiracy theories about the Dancing Plague of 1518, it’s all fair game. And according to artist and developer Dries Depoorter, that’s exactly the point.
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“There’s honesty in that,” says Depoorter, a digital provocateur based in Ghent, Belgium, best known for tech-meets-art projects that straddle the line between brilliant and slightly unhinged.
The idea, which was born during a 2016 workshop at Rotterdam’s V2 art centre, leans into the chaos of the internet age. While dating apps like Hinge, Raya, and Bumble allow users to curate their most aspirational selves, Browser Dating flips the model on its head. “Instead of choosing the best pictures or best things about yourself, this will show a side of you that you’d never pick,” says Depoorter. “You’re not able to choose from your search history – you have to upload all of it.”
Image @driesdepoorter via Instagram
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So far, the platform has just under 1,000 users. Signing up involves downloading a Chrome or Firefox extension to export your search data. Once uploaded, users get a basic profile (age, gender, location, etc.) and an AI-generated snapshot of their online behaviour. Matches are suggested based on shared digital quirks, like a mutual obsession with medieval trivia or late-night searches for “how to survive small talk.”
Image @driesdepoorter via Instagram
The feature set is minimal – no photos yet, and limited chat – but Depoorter has plans to expand, including building a mobile app and adding first-date recommendations. And the price? A refreshing one-time payment of €9 for unlimited matches. “I don’t want to exploit users by having them pay on a recurring basis,” he says
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Privacy is, understandably, the biggest sticking point. Depoorter assures users that the AI analysis is handled locally, browser histories aren’t shared with third parties, and Incognito data isn’t included. “It’s not exposed to the internet,” he says.
Image @driesdepoorter via Instagram
Reactions have been mixed. “Super weird,” posted one app developer. “I love the audacity,” said another. But that’s kind of the point – it’s raw, revealing, and totally unfiltered.
“Either people are fans of the idea or they are not,” Depoorter shrugs. “There is no convincing them.”
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