Nevermet

Nevermet is a mobile dating and matchmaking application for virtual reality and metaverse users, built by California-based Cheerio World Inc. Profiles are composed of avatar imagery rather than photographs of users — human faces are not permitted — so matching is based on avatar appearance and style, stated interests, and, once contact is made, voice. Users set age and gender filters and, instead of a physical location, list the virtual worlds they frequent, such as VRChat, Rec Room and Horizon Worlds. The interaction model follows conventional swipe-based dating apps: users swipe, and on a mutual match can exchange text messages in the app to arrange a date inside a VR platform of their choosing. The company describes the app as focused on romantic relationships but also open to users seeking friendship.

The app launched on iOS on Valentine's Day 2022, with Android expansion described as a future plan. Nevermet operates a documented trust-and-safety program: the service is restricted to users 18 and over, every profile is manually reviewed and approved by a human moderator before admission, and users can obtain a blue checkmark by submitting a government-issued ID and a face photo for age verification. Users suspected of misstating their age can be forced through verification. In-app controls include disconnecting from a match, an "invisible mode" that removes a profile from the discovery feed, and blocking and reporting, with staff review of reports and temporary or permanent bans for guideline violations.

Nevermet's positioning is explicitly counter to appearance-driven dating apps; company materials and press coverage frame avatar-based matching as removing looks from the initial filter and as expanding the dating pool beyond a user's physical vicinity. The company also frames VR dating as a space in which users can experiment with gender or sexual identity expression, and as an environment where physical assault is not possible."]

Founding story

Nevermet was created by co-founders Cam Mullen and Solaris Nite, who had previously built three social VR apps together: Couch, a social VR app for watching YouTube with others; Somewhere, a social geography-skills game; and Cheerio, a social VR app for making friends. Each reportedly had tens of thousands of users on the Oculus App Store. The founders observed that large numbers of users were using these apps — Cheerio in particular — to find romantic partners and in some cases to marry, and built Nevermet to serve that behavior directly as a dedicated dating product.

Business model

Consumer mobile application (initially iOS) that matches users on the basis of their metaverse avatars and routes them toward dates held inside third-party VR platforms such as VRChat, Rec Room and Horizon Worlds. Nevermet supplies discovery, filtering, messaging and moderation, but does not host the virtual venues where dates occur. The company also maintains a Discord community as an engagement channel.

Traction

The app reported more than 2,000 sign-ups on its first day of availability (14 February 2022). The company website reports over 100,000 users and more than 1 million relationships to date, alongside user testimonials describing matches that continued into in-person relationships. The founders' prior social VR apps were each described as having tens of thousands of users on the Oculus App Store.

Latest developments

The company published a blog post on 3 May 2024 covering VR dating and the concept of a "VR girlfriend," and its website continues to promote the app, its Discord community and its safety program while reporting over 100,000 users.