Once: Find your Perfect Match

My Experience with Once: Find your Perfect Match

I downloaded Once because I’m tired of the rubbish on other dating apps. My daughter helped me set up my OnePlus 11 after I told her I was fed up with swiping through hundreds of faces and getting nowhere. I’m a widower, been on my own for four years now, and I wanted something less frantic. The idea of one match a day sounded sensible. No wasting hours. On my second day, I matched with a lovely lady named Patricia who lives about twenty minutes from me. We’ve had three lovely chats since Wednesday evening. I like that I didn’t have to compete with hundreds of other blokes for her attention. It feels more respectful. The app isn’t perfect – nothing is – but for someone who doesn’t want to spend their retirement glued to a phone, it does what it says on the tin.

Features Worth Noting

The main feature is the one match per day. I know some people might find that slow, but for me it’s a blessing. It stops me from getting overwhelmed. Every morning around nine o’clock, a match appears. I get to look at their profile properly, read their interests, and decide if I want to send a message. No rushing. The chat function is simple enough – I type, they type back. I haven’t tried video calling yet, but my daughter said it works fine. I also like that you can see if someone has verified their photo. That gives me peace of mind. There’s a search filter too, which helped me narrow things down by age range and location. It’s not as fancy as some other apps I’ve tried, but fancy doesn’t help you find a decent conversation partner. The interface is clean and the text is big enough for my eyes. That matters when you’re past sixty.

What Needs Work

The main problem I have is the speed. When I contacted support because I accidentally swiped left on a match I liked, it took them three days to reply. Three days! By then I’d already moved on. The reply was helpful – they explained there’s no undo button – but by the time they got back to me, I’d forgotten what I was even upset about. That needs to be faster. Also, I wish there were more options for people like me who aren’t looking for anything too flashy. The app feels geared towards younger folks in cities. I live in a small town and the matches have been mostly from the next city over, which is fine, but it limits things. Lastly, the app can be a bit slow to load on my OnePlus 11 sometimes. Not every time, but enough to make me grumble. A little polish wouldn’t hurt.

Pricing

I’m using the free version and it suits me fine for now. You get your one match a day, you can chat, and that’s about it. If you want more – like seeing who liked you or sending unlimited likes – they want you to pay for a subscription. I think it’s about ten pounds a month. I haven’t signed up yet because I want to see if anything comes of my chat with Patricia first. I don’t like feeling pressured to pay. But I understand they need to make money somehow. What I don’t like is that some features are hidden behind the paywall without being clear about it upfront. I clicked on something thinking it was free and got a popup asking for my card details. That annoyed me. Be honest about what costs money.

Developer Notes

The developer, Xeanco Ltd, seems to be trying. The app used to be called uDates and they rebranded it, which tells me they’re listening to feedback. But they need to listen more. Support took three days to help me. That’s not good enough for an app that’s supposed to help you find love. Love waits for no one. Literally. My match from Tuesday expired before I could reply because I was waiting for their help with the swipe issue. Also, the app could do with a tutorial for people like me who aren’t tech experts. My daughter got me started, but if I’d been on my own, I’d have been lost. A simple guide when you first open the app would go a long way. They’ve got the right idea with the one-match concept. Now they need to execute it better.

Security & Privacy

I’m careful about these things. I don’t give out my address or phone number until I’ve met someone in person. Once seems to take safety seriously. They have photo verification, which I used. I also like that you can report and block people easily. I haven’t had to do it yet, but it’s there. The app asks for your location, which makes sense for matching nearby people. I was worried about my data being sold, but their privacy policy looked standard enough for my daughter to approve. She’s a nurse, not a lawyer, but she knows her way around apps. I would feel better if they mentioned data protection more clearly in the app itself, not just buried in a menu. For now, I feel safe enough to keep using it.