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Show HN: I created an app for you to be a more unpredictable romantic partner
Hi All!
Love Fuel aims to make you a romantic partner that is full of surprises. A partner that is unpredictable, in a fun and exciting way. The app does this, by giving you +450 surprise-ideas and by being a tool to plan actions.
As a happily married man, I didn't understand why there was no apps for already happy couples. Love Fuel focuses on excitement; not therapy; not emotional topics; not reconnecting.
One key feature is the reminders. As a technical solo-entrepreneur and married man, I understand we all get distracted sometimes, but that shouldn’t cause problems. Love Fuel has a hidden reminder system to nudge you to surprise your partner and shift your focus to what matters.
Please also feel free to check out PAS 1.0, our custom Personality Assessment AI-System. Its goal is simple, analyses you and your partner, and then provide personalized suggestions based on personality psychology. Together with a small group of psychologists here in Scandinavia we have used 2 years developing this new approach to Rec-Psych Systems. Many more features will be coming soon!
The app should be out in the US + EU on Apple Appstore now, and Google Play tomorrow.
I would love to get some feedback and any advice on my Love Fuel journey!
EDIT: A clarification. We do not sell or ever intend to sell data, no matter how lucrative it is, i would rather abandon the project than do that.
- pockybum522 2y agoI'd love to try it but it says it's not available in my country (United States)
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- Famous4 2y ago[dead]
- emocin 2y agoi wanted to check this out, but the sheer amount of data it collects and links to me makes it a "hell naw dogg" from me, unfortunately. :(
- emocin 2y agoi see the update about not selling data, but still. im VERY selective with what apps get installed based on the data they collect.
- boring_twenties 2y agoI am having a hard time understanding how you could even ask for all this personal information with a straight face for an app like this. In fact why would any kind of account at all be required? Given the apparent simplicity of the app I don't see any other conclusion than this is a pure and shameless gimmick to collect this information from people. As far as I can tell this can be replaced by a plain text file of suggestions and a random number generator. Of course I'm not sure about this since I am never going to never going to submit to the requirements to find out.
- borgdefense 2y ago[flagged]
- icu 2y agoCan you please make your app available in the UK for Android? I'm blocked from installing it from the Play Store.
- Joakim_Habekost 2y agoHi! Thank you for the comment, i'm currently awaiting google playstore. The app has been uploaded for review. Stay tuned ! :)
- catoc 2y agoThe developer replying to this, and not to the more pertinent questions inquiring about privacy (posted hours earlier), does not increase my confidence in the intentions behind the gathering of so much private information. Explanations welcome, maybe you’re one of the good guys.
- happymellon 2y agoIn the UK. Installed the app on Android but it seems to require a photo with no way of setting a photo. Tapping the camera icon does nothing.
- Joakim_Habekost 2y agoCrap. I will get right on that. Thanks!!
- happymellon 2y agoThanks!
- oschvr 2y agoCame in to say this. Thanks. Looks interesting
- efilife 2y agoDatamining, don't use
- Joakim_Habekost 2y agoHarsh untrue comment. I'm rn creating an anonymous guest user signin option. Don't assume the worst just because you can.
- efilife 2y agoIt's datamining until you add the guest option. Why did you think collecting that much data was necessary in the first place?
- Joakim_Habekost 2y agoThe guest option will be out soon (max 2 days, i hope). I have just developed it yesterday/today. Why did i choose it: I simply did a little less than what my other couples apps do, and where I'm from this amount of information is not considered a lot. In Sweden everything is public. Everything, as in everything: salary, address, phone number, car etc. (this is by law) So for me and my many Scandinavian test users, no-one cared. But now i see the feedback, and I am working fast to take the feedback and create a good experience with just a guest account. If you have anymore feedback let me know, I will be sure to listen!
- efilife 2y agoThis is reasonable, I didn't think about it this way. Wild it's less than what other apps take. I'll sure try the app once the guest option is implemented
- bdjsiqoocwk 2y agoYeah what I want from a partner is unpredictability.
- peddling-brink 2y agoProbably surprise flowers, not surprise career change.
- Joakim_Habekost 2y agoHaha yes precisely. Fun exciting surprises, not life altering surprises ;)
- adrimubo96 2y agoPretty cool app, I like it! I have some random thoughts that I'll try to write down about it: - In order to start using its core feature, that I would say is the "advice" to do special things for your partner, you have to sign up, then verify your email, then create your profile, and when you finally get to the "home" view you still have some banners eating screen real state from your main feature. That is too much friction! I think it would be best to just let people try it straight away and then lead them to sign up in order to unblock further usage/features. I think that the conversion funnel of the app can be improved. - Nice design, I like it, very modern towards what are we seeing this 2024 as "trendy". - You are using firebase on the backend, nice choice for a v1.0!
- Joakim_Habekost 2y agoHi, thank you so much for your comment. Based on you comment and everyone else's feedback i've decided using today creating a single button signup = a anonymous a guest user. Then later again ask people to fully create their account. Kind of like reddit does. The update should be out in a few days.
- 3np 2y agoWhy require a login/account at all? What core functionality actually depends on a server to be involved, from your point of view?
- jandeboevrie 2y ago[flagged]
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- xandrius 2y agoI hope my partner never finds about this. Getting random "prank" tickets sounds like torture :/
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- playingalong 2y agoRomantism as a service
- Joakim_Habekost 2y agoHaha, Yes SaaS is so outdated ;)
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- ricardonunez 2y agoWas testing it and trying to create an account and got a random error because was not accepting the terms. The error should say “please accept the terms”instead.
- Joakim_Habekost 2y agoThank you for trying it out and letting me know, I will be sure to fix that in the next update!
- zcw100 2y agoI can just see it, “Did you buy me these flowers I was it that stupid app?”
- delusional 2y agoIf your SO would be annoyed at your romantic gesture because you got the idea from an app you might have other problems in that relationship. Generally, I find women appreciate the gesture, even if the idea isn't entirely original. People just like that you think about them.
- userbinator 2y agoWith the increasing pushback against AI and reliance on technology, it might happen.
- nwoli 2y agoThey would probably react that way since the partner was just following instructions of an app rather than something more romantic and genuine
- rsynnott 2y agoI mean, if a robot told you to do it, then I would be inclined to argue that it’s _not a gesture. > People just like that you think about them. Indeed. The trouble here is that this rather seems like a _substitute_ for thinking about them.
- Hugsun 2y agoMy SO is very grateful for flowers she tells me to buy. I second your statement.
- outop 2y agoWhat "other problems in that relationship" do you think they might have? Doing little surprises for someone, texting them to wish them a good day, etc, is a form of signalling. People like it because they know that you are thinking about them randomly, and that you care how they're doing. If you're simply using an app reminder to do stuff in order to grind relationship points, it has a completely different meaning.
- willsmith72 2y agoFun idea. It might worth getting some proof reading done on the FAQs. Some of them have small typos or are not particularly clear, especially "Why is Love Fuel a not couples game?"
- frizlab 2y agoNot supported in your region (I’m in France, on iOS).
- Joakim_Habekost 2y agoTrue, due to the national data laws in France we are not ready to launch there yet. Sorry.
- pjerem 2y agoWhat is this again ? You mean that you are not GDPR compliant for an app that generates random phrases ? It feels like there is something shady.
- Joakim_Habekost 2y agoYes its GDPR compliant. Our team has simply never made one of the Apple Appstore Required Encryption documents, and due to that we decided to be on the safe side, and therefore wait with France untill tuesday next week when we can get help with it.
- popcalc 2y agoTrust me, you don't need any of that.
- Joakim_Habekost 2y agoCan you tell me more? I am funded by The Danish Innovation Foundation, and so I always remain on the safe side, as recommended. It sounds like you have experience with this, do you have any good resources I perhaps can read or anything alike? :)
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- domlaut 2y agoCool idea, but I do wish an account wasn’t necessary to use the app.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- josephrmartinez 2y agoCongrats on putting this out there in the world! Quick landing page feedback: Could you update it so that the first two screen captures are not the same content? And then pick a different second example that isn't also about leaving a note? More variation in the landing page examples would give me a better intro. Is it possible to just call them "researchers at xyz institute" and link to their lab rather than "Scandinavian researchers"?
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- neilv 2y agoIt might be inappropriate or disallowed to use the name of the institution in separate commercial promotion. But mentioning Scandinavian seems savvy. If they hadn't said they were Scandinavian, I would've assumed the startup was totally full of poo, because many of the signs thus far look like stereotypical US techbro sociopathy. If I had that reaction as a US techbro myself, then presumably some Europeans they might be speaking to (as prospective investors, hires, or users) would also have that reaction.
- Joakim_Habekost 2y agoThank you for answering for me. And yes this is the case, the contracts with Scandinavian Universities are very slow and heavy. But the process has started.
- TheFutureIsNear 2y agoWhy is it not available in the Canadian app store?
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- Joakim_Habekost 2y agoAnnoying, but fair data laws of the world, this case: Canada. Hopefully will be okay next week.
- pvg 2y agoCanadian couples are even-keeled, rather than imprudently ‘happy’.
- ralphington 2y agoSorry aboot that.
- olig15 2y agoI like the idea, but the fact I have to create an account and upload a profile picture immediately put me off. I created one with fake data and a random image, once in the app it appears to just exist to hover up personal data. Then you have to create and link a partners account to get more than 5 or so ideas… I’d honestly rather pay a small one off fee for this same app, without the need for an account.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- johnrob 2y agoCouldn’t this just be an email or text based service? Why a mobile app?
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- eduardofcgo 2y agoBecause that already exists and is ChatGPT
- kn0where 2y agoPerhaps the lack of availability in certain countries due to their data laws is a sign that this app really shouldn’t require an account. If the ultimate goal of this free app is monetizing my data, no thanks.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- GoodJokes 2y ago[dead]
- personjerry 2y agoOne of the most important characteristics in a partner is authenticity. If they didn't think of getting you flowers themself (and had to use an app), is that real?
- dathos 2y agoSo you don’t have a birthday calendar?
- q7xvh97o2pDhNrh 2y ago> If they didn't think of getting you flowers themself (and had to use an app), is that real? I did confess to my girlfriend once that I'd never thought of getting her flowers, and that every time I had bought her flowers in the past was actually just the output of a Chinese room. [1] She said it was fine, and she liked the flowers either way. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_room https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_room
- joshuahutt 2y agoThey didn't think of it "themselves," but they did choose to do it.
- ifyoubuildit 2y agoWell, they cared enough to use the app. Doesn't that count for something?
- furyofantares 2y agoWhat if they thought of using an app to think up ways to make you happy
- gred 2y agoThat's a 10x lover!
- pjerem 2y agoI’d say yes. We are all flawed. It’s not because you are busy or because your brain is tired that you don’t love your partner. Being spontaneous requires energy. A lot of people lack energy but still loves their partner. Following the prompt isn’t mandatory, just take it as a source of inspiration for when you want to be kind but have no idea.
- guefor 2y ago[flagged]
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- pelagicAustral 2y ago[flagged]
- foota 2y agoImo hn isn't just for people posting open source, but also for sharing what you've built. As long as someone isn't spamming I think this kind of thing is fine. I do think it's a little off that they're posting from a new account, whereas ideally they'd already be involved. Maybe they didn't want to associate this with their actual account for some reason?
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- akira2501 2y ago[flagged]
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- robsalasco 2y agoNot available in Chile :(
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- freshnode 2y agoOr NZ
- winternewt 2y agoOr Sweden.
- Joakim_Habekost 2y agoSorry, do you mean on Andriod or IOS? (I live in Sweden ... and can download on IOS) If Android, then it is because we are waiting for Google Playstore Approval.
- winternewt 2y agoOn Android.
- entropyie 2y agoWish it was a website instead of an app.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- yjftsjthsd-h 2y agoI could actually see an app making sense, because then you can easily do everything it does totally offline and private. Of course, the fact that it wants to create an account rather undermines that.
- maest 2y ago> This item is not available in your country UK.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- l3x4ur1n 2y ago"Not available in your region." You're saying it's because of data privacy laws. I'm in the EU, so it's not available in the whole EU? Why even is it so privacy sensitive? Do I have to share any private information to use the app?
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- xandrius 2y agoYeah, weird. It should be just a set of suggestions and yet it wants so much data from the users.
- outop 2y agoThe EU rules are essentially that if you give them information for a particular purpose, they can only use it for that purpose and no other. So they obviously want to break this. Doubtless if you use this you're training a model that understands what kind of interactions romantic partners find meaningful and sentimental.
- yieldcrv 2y ago[flagged]
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- a1371 2y agoIt says not available in Canada, just pointing it out in case that was not intended
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- donatj 2y ago> This item is not available in your country United States on Android?
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- ye1le 2y agoFirst impression matters: no iOS sso and pw policy intransparenten, had to retry x 4 without any useful feedback
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- patwoz 2y agoPlease remove the need to create an account
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- _yb2s 2y agoLots of comments are saying this is disingenuous, but they are missing the fact that you have to care enough about your partner and relationship to get this app, and actually follow through with the suggestions. There is nothing disingenuous about that, and, frankly, most people wouldn’t care or couldn’t be bothered enough to actually do it. As a busy adult with ADHD, a young kid, and a demanding job it is hard to remember to regularly surprise my partner and keep things fun, interesting, and unpredictable year after year. I always want to but can’t always remember to. I think this is a great idea. Personally, I would not follow the suggestions directly, but would add some personal creativity, or just use it as a concept to trigger my own ideas. I usually do already do surprise/ mystery dates and things like that when I remember to. That said, I won’t be trying this app because of the account requirements mentioned by others. Deal breaker for me.
- Joakim_Habekost 2y agoThis comment made my day, I've been working for two years, day and night, and this is the most accurate representation of how I vision the world with Love Fuel. Thank you!
- bhaney 2y agoYour vision of the world with your app is that people don't use it because of its account requirements?
- Joakim_Habekost 2y agoI think the comment above has been edited, me and my wife did not see the last sentence before now. It's very surprising to me that the Hacker News is so against having an account? Most of the internet requires one nowadays. I will keep following the direction/mood of the comments and react based a whole view, so far around +80 people have downloaded, with 4-5 people talked negatively about account requirements.
- brnt 2y ago
- samholmes 2y agoAccount creation process is unnecessary. Biggest issue with the app
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- HenriTEL 2y agoAndroid app not available in my country, France.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- Joakim_Habekost 2y agoHey, thank you for the comment, Android / google play are a bit slow to approved compared to Apple, but it should be out on Andriod very soon!
- HenriTEL 2y agoYes it's now a available. Thank you !
- jamesdhutton 2y agoDownloaded it. It wants my email, date of birth, full name and access to all my photos, before it will let me use it. Way too much info. Delete app. Shame because it seems like a nice idea.
- lynndotpy 2y agohttps://www.lovefuel.app/terms-conditions https://www.lovefuel.app/terms-conditions Binding arbitration with no opt-out provision. I would also be hesitant to share this much information.
- jbombadil 2y ago+1. I immediately reject any app that is asking for a piece of information it has no business knowing. A messaging app asking for my contacts? Makes sense. A gym tracker asking my contacts? Instant delete.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- neilv 2y agoThis might be good, in the balance, for some people, but an important component is lost... There are things that past partners have done that were especially meaningful because they came from the heart -- because they thought of it, and wanted to. And I'd never say what those things were, because it wouldn't be as special if a future partner did one of those other things because they'd been given intel that I'd like that. Nor if they were told to by an app.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- sirsinsalot 2y agoBut, you did want to, so much so you used an app to ensure you did. If my partner cared enough about me to ensure they used tools that helped them express it... I'd be flattered. Have you used the app? Perhaps the ideas and reminders are along the lines of "put their fav songs in a playlist for your next car journey together" That's actually a good one. Ima do that.
- neilv 2y agoQuoting `https://www.lovefuel.app/team https://www.lovefuel.app/team`: > PAS - Personality Assesment system > In cooperation with neuropsychologists, couples therapists, and psychologists, we have developed DIREBP. (Dyadic interpersonal romantic emotional behavior profiles). > Each user has one DIREBP, and it represents you and your personal profile inside of the PAS. The DIREBP represent you measures of psychological personality descriptors. It keeps track of descriptors like: Extrovertism, Anxiety, The Relationships sense of Commitment, and several of hundred more descriptors. This is very sensitive, intimate, personal information. Does this profile stay on the device only, and are there conscious measures to prevent inadvertently leaking information about the profile (e.g., such as avoiding leaking interests implicit in secondary network accesses it makes)? Or is this profile accessible directly by the corporate mothership?
- popcalc 2y agoIt would be wise to assume the goal is to sell it along with the company at a later point to a data broker.
- Joakim_Habekost 2y agoHi. Thank you for the question. + this comment? 1. Never sell it. See text in the post. I know this is normal in the US, but way less so where I/we are from in Scandinavia. There's a fair mistrust given the norms in other countries, but as said in the post, I would rather abandon the project then start selling the data. 2. The data of the personality profiles gets processed anonymously. You as a user cannot even access the anonymous-results directly, there's an encrypted service in between the data-points, fetching only select data. 3. Everything is encrypted, on device, from device to servers, and on servers.
- neilv 2y agoIn other words, the intimate data doesn't stay on the device, and the user must trust the company that is grabbing the data. Regarding trust, the must trust the company to not misuse the data now, must trust that future version of the company (and asset acquirers) not to misuse the data, must trust the company to perfectly secure the data against intruders. (The talk of encryption and anonymization is usually mostly a diversion or misunderstanding.)
- whiddershins 2y agoEdit: I changed a few words to try to make this comment less harsh. I know how much work it is to release a product and it’s hard to hear negative feedback. All I am really saying is: consider why you are adding the complexity inherent in forcing user accounts and such. Just because everyone else does it, is not enough reason. ——- I really really like the idea. Enough to have immediately downloaded the app. My 2 cents: The entire UX needs to be analyzed with fresh eyes. My email confirmation went to spam and i almost forgot I downloaded the app. But why is there an email confirmation? Why must i make an account? Why must i upload a picture?!? Why must I tell you my age? Why must I invite a partner to seemingly get any use out of this? What is your goal with this app? If you want to gain users, focus on making getting started as seamless and quick as possible. Iron out the UI elements like the clumsy rectangle warning modals, focus on making it really intuitive to use. Figure out how to make it really easy to get me setting up ideas. At this stage it is a privilege for you to have any of my time and attention, and you need to iterate your UI and offering based on customer feedback and usage metrics.
- Joakim_Habekost 2y agoHi! I really appreciate your comment, and thank you for saying it so nicely. Not harsh at all ;) It's absolutely amazing to get this much feedback all in one, and I will be sure to make updates to the UI and get-started flows better.
- qot 2y agoCan someone please upload the .apk somewhere? It's not available in my country (Canada).
- Joakim_Habekost 2y agoThank you for being so willing to try it, I hope to release it to Canada on Tuesday. If you are interested, I have an email list on the website, I will be sure to notify you.
- rwbayer 2y agoThis seems like a really cool idea! After downloading, I decided to delete it for the following reasons (some are duplicated in other comments): - profile picture requirement -> this seems unnecessary - unlocking additional access by inviting partner -> with the current value prop, it doesn’t seem like an app where both partners need to be engaged to get value - the ideas presented on download weren’t as creative as I hoped -> the first few I swiped through before deleting were some variation on “Watch a movie and buy candy.” I understand I didn’t give you a lot of data on what our preferences are, but diversity would have helped keep me engaged at this phase I look forward to revisiting the app in a future version. Again, cool idea!
- europeanNyan 2y agoThe idea is very nice and the app seems good enough for what it is, but having to also create an account on my partner's phone and connecting with them defeats the whole purpose for me. I want to surprise them, not let them know that I installed an app, which they have to create an account for and connect to me, to surprise them. I guess that the idea is to connect the personality test results between partners to find better suggestions, but please consider dropping that suggestion. With only 5 suggestions, this app is sadly getting deleted from my phone very soon.
- arresin 2y agoYeah doesn’t that defeat the unpredictability goal?
- Joakim_Habekost 2y agoHi the two of you, Thanks for commenting! Yes that is the general idea with the connection, but based on feedback i have removed the partner-limits. In addition i am also created a guest login (which works for most features), and many more changes based on the feedback from you folks in hacker news. No profile picture requirement anymore etc. etc. The update should be out very soon, I just gotta test everything works.
- 3np 2y agoWhy need a login/account at all? What core functionality actually requires a server to be involved, from your point of view? What we've seen again and again is apparently well-intended founders who say something like this. Fast-forward a few years and for whatever reasons, the company transitions ownership, and the founder and original team are out of the decision-making loop. After which the already-gathered data gets increasingly exploited and the gathering of data from users expands, contrary to promises and intents of the founder. By being stricter in your original implementation and application architecture as can be observed externally and from the point of view of the client, you make it harder to for silently break user trust without a way for users to detect it.
- wojrem 2y agoHow do you plan to monetize the app? Subscription seems to me won't work well because the churn rate of such app will be quite high (folks will play few weeks and learn basic "quests"). Using data is very controversial as can be seen in comments - also not sure how to monetize it well.
- red-iron-pine 2y agoaye, same question. what's to stop me from buying it for a few weeks / couple months, running through a few ideas, and then ditching it? put another way, what value does this have over a static html page of "150 cute date ideas" from Elle or Cosmo that I could just cut out and pull out of a hat? searching for "cute date ideas" gets me to Marie Claire with "80 Fun date ideas for when you're tired of a Dinner and a Movie". And with the fashion mags, if I pay them money I get plenty of other stuff that's not date ideas, and won't datamine me (as hard)