01 - Humanity is good

We look forward to a future of human flourishing - more artists, more astronauts, more inventors, more Olympians, more childhood dreams from more childhoods. But in much of the world, each generation has married less often, married later, and had fewer children. As a result, most countries worldwide have fallen below the replacement rate, meaning their nations are dwindling. We think people need each other as individuals and societies, and human flourishing starts with more families.

02 - Long-term meaning over short-term gratification

In 1985, Whole Foods had three stores in Austin and one in Houston, and eating ‘organic’ was something only hippies and athletes cared about. No one was drinking kale smoothies. Thirty-some years on, health food is everywhere. Of course, fast food hasn’t gone away, but, spurred on by early adopters and more health-conscious parts of society, more and more people are turning anew towards an older paradigm - organic sourcing, fewer or no preservatives, no processing.

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We think the same new turn to older practice will happen, starting with family-conscious people, then going mainstream. Casual dating apps only satisfy short-term instant gratification, the empty calories of relationships. Keeper is for people who recognize the long-term matters.

03 - Iteration and improvement ARE a part of the process

It’s everyone’s responsibility to be the best version of themselves, both in-person and online. But it’s hard to know what the other sex wants these days - our culture and media send distorted messages, and we don’t see the world through their eyes. Keeper lets you crowdsource feedback on your photos and profile from people who meet your criteria. Once you’ve gone on a few dates from Keeper, if you want to see it, we’ll show you any constructive feedback that your dates have given anonymously. That way, you won’t be flying blind next time.

04 - Honesty is the best policy

We will always take your criteria seriously, but we’ll take everyone else’s criteria seriously, too. If it doesn’t look like you’ll get a match, we want to know more; maybe we’re missing something great about you, or maybe we need to present you a little differently.

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However, we do not want to help anyone practice self-deception: if there’s something you're missing that you can do to take charge of your life or something about your criteria standing in the way of excellent matches, we will help you move forward.

05 - We take care with people

Everyone is busy, and searching for a partner is time-intensive. Let us do the work — tell us who you are and what you want, and we’ll get started. We don’t make matches just to make matches, however. We’d rather take longer in the background than waste two people's time. You shouldn’t expect a regular cadence of matches because neither you nor your prospective matches are disposable people.

06 - We don’t deny Nature

Other dating apps are one-size-fits-all. We think that's silly because men and women are fundamentally different.

We are the result of millions of years of natural and sexual selection. These evolutionary pressures have created intersexual dynamics that dictate how relationships form. Because of this, men and women behave differently when they look for a partner, from the things they want, to how they feel about short-term vs. long-term relationships.

We are conscious of the incentives and limitations hardwired into all of us. For example, because men are visually primed more easily than women for short-term pursuits, Keeper built our user experience for men differently. Men must state their preferences for an LTR up front and aren't allowed to swipe through numerous profiles where their intentions could be swayed.