Don’t wait for the fates to deliver your soulmate — use science to conduct that search on your own. This week, dating website eHarmony unveiled its compatibility scoring for the first time in its 16-year history, showing us just how the company has managed to successfully play matchmaker. Whereas the site’s algorithm was previously kept private, it’s now being revealed on both mobile web and desktop to help users better understand why they’ve matched with others by way of eHarmony’s compatibility scoring.
“Most people are looking for love in all the wrong places, especially around the holidays when there is natural tendency to crave human connection,” said Grant Langston, chief executive officer of eHarmony. “We’ve been investigating and working to understand what makes long-term relationships successful for nearly 20 years. We are excited to be pulling back the curtain on our algorithm and showcasing why two people are fit as well as introducing new features to help people jumpstart a meaningful relationship. We want to set people up on their last first date.”
If you log onto eHarmony this holiday season, you’ll actually be able to see precisely what makes you and your prospect compatible. A new feature called “The Two of You Together” displays what the matchmaking site describes as “dimensions of compatibility that predict successful and lasting relationships.” You can check out how well your emotional energy, kindness, and intellect jive with others, and learn more about what each dimension means.
Moreover, not only will you be able to gain depth, but you’ll also have breadth when it comes to new matches. The latest version of eHarmony will include up to 90 percent more opportunities for connections, the site claims, which may be due in part to the fact that eHarmony is shortening its profile questionnaire, allowing new members to get started in 10 minutes or less.
Indeed, this is the time to begin considering online dating, eHarmony finds. According to the dating site’s data, January 1 through January 3 are the three biggest registration days of the year for eHarmony, with three times the amount of people registering on those days when compared to daily averages.
