Estimated read time: minutes. This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story. Mutual had "its first match," Westover said, when co-founder Cooper Boice moved from BYU to Arizona and recognized the struggle to find people to date who have similar religious beliefs and standards.
In , the app began its development. Since its launch in April , the app has exploded in popularity through grassroots efforts and word of mouth, Westover said. But with any dating app, there are safety concerns and users need to be cautious and vigilant when meeting other users. When Amanda Taysom switched from Tinder to Mutual, she noticed a difference, she said — especially because many of her matches were much more willing to seek a long-term relationship rather than a brief hook-up.
But before Taysom matched with her now husband, she found there were also several users who either were not members of the church or were pretending to be members. To best address this concern, Westover noted that Mutual's premium package now provides filters on the user's frequency with church attendance and temple recommend worthiness.
We say Mutual's very similar. Visitors are welcome, but we do require you to uphold our community guidelines and standards, which are stricter than other apps," Westover said. On Mutual, users can be restricted or banned for any inappropriate in-app or in-person behavior, including nudity, sexting, alcohol or drug use, or even in some cases immodesty, she noted. The rules can prove beneficial for many; However, just because many users have experienced satisfaction doesn't mean that there aren't still safety concerns, according to Boo Sampson, a previous Mutual user.
When Emma Williams went on a date with a man she met on Mutual, she expected to have a nice time "with someone who I thought shared the same values as me. She said she sought advice but was discouraged from filing a report because she was told that she wouldn't be believed. But when her friend, Amelia Greenall, tried to report the Mutual user, Greenall said she was told by the Mutual support team that it was "a serious allegation" to make. When they asked for the police report, she noted that Williams didn't have one.
