Designing swipe-to-connect for friendship

Making friends as an adult is hard. Making Christian friends after a move, a new job or a change of church can be harder still. You can sit in the same service for months and only ever share a handshake at the door.

Connect is our answer: a simple, low-pressure way to meet believers near you. And yes, you swipe. But on Spage, swiping is for Christian friendship and fellowship, never dating.

Why we used a swipe at all

A card you can pass or connect with is quick, and it takes the awkwardness out of the first step. Nobody is told when you pass, and nobody is told if their request isn’t returned.

What we changed is everything around the swipe. The words, the questions and the buttons all point to friendship. You connect, you don’t match.

Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend. Proverbs 27:17

Lead with what you’re praying for

On most apps, the back of a card is about looks or hobbies. On Spage, it starts with “I’m praying for”, or a verse that carries you. It says more about a person in one line than a gallery of photos ever could.

You also say what you’re looking for: a prayer partner, a Bible study partner, accountability, friends, worship and music, or a church. So when two cards meet, both people already know why they’re there.

Three buttons: pass, connect, pray

Pass and connect do what you’d expect. The third button is our favourite part of Connect: Pray. Tap it, pray for that person, and they’ll know someone prayed for them, even if you never connect.

It turns scrolling past strangers into a small act of love. Some days you won’t meet anyone new. You can still lift someone up.

When you both connect

When two people connect with each other, Spage says “You’re now connected” and shows what you have in common, with a few ice-breakers to help you say hi. From there, you’re friends: you can message, pray for each other and start an accountability group together.

Want to say something before connecting? You can send a message from someone’s card. It arrives as a request, holding one message, until they accept.

Built to slow down, not speed up

Endless swiping is how apps keep you hooked. We wanted the opposite, so there are a few deliberate limits:

1. 50 connects a day. Enough to meet people, few enough to make each one count.
2. Filters that matter. Distance, age range, what people are looking for, only people from your church, or only people with an active streak.
3. Nearby is off until you turn it on. You choose when to be seen, and you can report or block anyone.

Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow. Ecclesiastes 4:9–10

Find your people

Spage is a Christian community app for daily Bible reading and prayer, the churches around you, and the friends who help you keep going. Connect is where those friendships start. The app is coming soon. Until then, you can help us test it.