Is the Iris Dating App Legit?

Two questions hide inside this one. The first is whether Iris is a real, safe place to use. The second is whether it will get you dates. On the first, the app describes rules that point the right way: every member verifies a photo with a selfie, and the minimum age is 18. On the second, the better odds Iris claims are its own, no independent evidence backs them, and the app promises no result. Test it for a couple of weeks and judge it by what it gives you.

Iris is a dating app that uses artificial intelligence to learn which faces you find attractive. You train it by rating pictures, and it then shows you people it predicts will like you back. You can message someone only after you both like each other.

The company says it looks at facial features and does not take skin color, race, hairstyle or clothes into account. That is its description of its method, not something we have tested.

Its safety claims are simpler. Every member verifies the profile photo with a selfie, and you must be 18 or older. Those are the app's own rules, and they are worth knowing, but a rule written down is not the same as a rule we have checked.

A photo check tells you the face in the photos belongs to someone, and that the member could produce a matching selfie. It is a useful filter against the laziest fake accounts.

It says nothing about what she wants, how honest she is, or whether she is who she says in every other respect. Our view is that a badge is a start, not the check. a dating coach's own check is a short video call before the date. He says a ten-minute chat can save you a whole evening with someone you would not have wanted to meet, and that women who have spoken to you beforehand almost never flake.

So treat verification as a good start. Do the rest yourself.

Iris says its approach gives better odds. That is a claim from the company that sells the product, and it promises no result. We know of no independent evidence that it does better than the big apps, and we will not pretend to.

Whether it works for you depends on things Iris does not control. The system predicts from faces, and yours is one of them. If your photos are dark, cropped or years old, it has little to work with. It also depends on where you live. An app is only useful where enough people are on it, and a smaller user base can leave a man with a short list.

coach calls this poor app selection, and he lists it among the common mistakes: the right app depends on your area and on you. His advice is that you do not have to be loyal to one. You can try several, push the good one as far as it goes, and move on.

You can apply the same few questions to Iris or to anything else.

• Where did you get it? Download only from the official store listing, and be wary of a link someone sent you.
• What does it ask for up front? Be careful with an app that wants card details before it has explained what you are paying for.
• Who is behind it? A real company says who it is and has a help page you can read.
• Do the people look real? Photos that all look like stock images are a warning.
• What happens when you ask for something? A real app answers a question about refunds or deleting your account.

If an app fails more than one of these, close it and put your time somewhere else.

Run it for two weeks. Rate in a balanced way, since Iris itself advises that liking almost everyone or almost no one gives it too little to learn from. Use clear daylight photos.

Then count three things: the conversations it gave you, the plans that came out of them, and the dates that happened. Compare that with where you were before. If the numbers are better, keep it. If they are not, you have your answer without needing anyone's opinion on whether the app is legitimate.

A mutual like is a small win, not a date. Write to her soon, with something about her, and keep it light. coach teaches that about four to seven short texts, each with a purpose, should get a woman from the app to her phone number and a plan.

Aim for a place, a day and a short call. A man who gets to the call within a few messages learns more about her in ten minutes than the app can tell him in a month.