Key Takeaways
- happn is turning voter turnout into a dating moment, using civic engagement to reinforce its identity as a “real-life” dating app.
- Dating apps can do more than match profiles; like happn, they can promote civic engagement and IRL socializing while providing dating support.
- What U.S. daters see as a political dealbreaker, Dutch singles see as a conversation starter, and happn’s campaign intends to facilitate these connections.
Talking about politics may be taboo on first dates, but happn plans to make one aspect of politics a leading conversation topic: voting.
When the company discovered that 38% of singles don’t have plans to vote in Netherlands’ March 18 municipal elections, it decided to use its platform to remind daters of their civic duty — and, perhaps, facilitate some connections in the process.
happn calls itself a “real-life dating app” for a reason. It doesn’t only want to help people make real-life romantic connections, but add genuine value to daters’ real lives.
Encouraging people to vote not only gets them to their polling places, but reminds users that real connections can happen offline, within their own local communities — with happn’s help, of course.
“With this campaign, we want to remind singles of their duty to vote in a light-hearted way, while showing that important moments happen in real life,” said Claire Rénier, Head of Communications at happn. “This aligns with what happn stands for: encouraging real connections, even beyond dating.”
happn Goes “Beyond Dating” to Encourage Connections
This is not the first time happn has ventured beyond the world of dating profiles and into politics (or, more accurately, into civic engagement).
happn, which originated in France, recently collaborated with French NGO A Voté to encourage young people to register to vote. “Our latest in-app campaign has been deployed in more than 26 [French] cities to support young people in every step of these municipal elections,” the company posted on LinkedIn.
It would not be unusual to find a happn campaign unfolding at a Parisian marathon, inside a Brazilian bookstore, or over coffee and dancing in Istanbul. The company is intent on going “beyond dating” by exploring the IRL hobbies ripe for romantic connections, including both voting booths and night clubs.
“happn has always been about more than just gathering profiles.”
And Rénier isn’t the only happn exec who believes the app has power “beyond dating.”
“happn has always been about more than just gathering profiles,” happn CEO Karima Ben Abdelmalek told DatingNews. “It’s about reflecting the values and the engagement of our community.”
Voting lives at the intersection of the “values and engagement” mentioned by Ben Abdelmalek, giving the app a rare opportunity to make both a civic and romantic impact.
Dutch Singles Are Far More Likely To Cross Party Lines
happn’s efforts beg an important question: Could dating apps make a similar impact in the United States? There’s no short answer to this question. To be sure, the political culture in the Netherlands is much different than it is in the U.S.
When happn surveyed over 1,000 Dutch users, it found that singles in the Netherlands are not significantly polarized by politics. In fact, many respondents want to be more politically and socially engaged, not only with their communities, but with each other.
Forty-three percent of survey respondents said they believe that differing views can inspire deep conversations that ultimately help couples connect on a deeper level. “We know that Gen Z and Millennials care about the world they live in, and we want to support that energy,” Ben Abdelmalek told us.
In a 2025 DatingNews and Kinsey Institute study, 30% of surveyed singles said they refuse to date across party lines, and 43% said they wouldn’t date someone who supported different political policies.
happn, on the other hand, found that only 12% of Dutch singles see political differences as a red flag. Dutch daters still believe that politics and values can overlap, but in a positive way, with each providing a more detailed glimpse into their partner’s perspective.
Twelve percent of Dutch singles see political differences as a red flag.
“After all, sharing common values is a powerful spark for a new connection,” Ben Abdelmalek said. “And who knows, the path to the ballot box might just lead to a meaningful encounter.”
Ben Abdelmalek’s words sum up happn’s campaign nicely. By nudging daters to engage more with their lives offline, happn is, somewhat ironically, deepening its overall user impact.
