How Singapore’s government-run dating service works, and why it won’t solve the nation’s dating woes
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Those signing up to the FirstDate pilot programme must first complete a questionnaire of over 30 questions.Three years after the demise of the Social Development Network, it looks like a new government-run matchmaker is back on the cards for Singapore.Earlier this month, a pilot progamme by GovTech called FirstDate was announced, with government workers set to be the first batch of daters. If this sounds familiar, that’s because I was the first to report on GovTech testing the waters with this idea all the way back in April for The Straits Times.Kai@teo_kai_xiangI CALLED IT. It's happening y'all. The singapore gov has launched a pilot programme for a gov-run dating service. Looks like the pilot is currently restricted to just government workers for now. 8:15 AM · Sep 29, 2026 · 4.54M Views237 Replies · 945 Reposts · 13.5K LikesHow will the matchmaking work? What questions are even in the matchmaking questionnaire? (Read on for the full list)On FirstDate’s website, one line stands out: “FirstDate uses a Nobel prize-winning framework called the Gale-Shapley Stable Marriage Algorithm”. It’s a brow-raising detail because, despite the name, the algorithm has almost nothing to do with marriage, but more on this later.The dating service will use Singpass to verify the identity of users, match people in cycles (you get only one match each cycle), and share contact details only when both users agree to their match.To get a sense of how the matchmaking works, here’s the questionnaire that the government workers signing up must fill out. The questions are a mix of close-ended and open-ended ones, across 8 categories, spanning topics like interests and passions, lifestyle and daily habits, and communication and relationship style.These are the questions:What are you into these days? (pick up to 5 out of a checklist of items like gaming, film and cinema, volunteering, cafe-hopping, etc)Now, spill! What do you actually love about your hobbies? (open-ended, optional)What cuisines do you eat on repeat and never get sick of? (pick up to 3 out of a checklist)Which restaurant do you keep going back to and why? (open-ended, optional)How often do you find an excuse to leave the country? (close-ended, with options like every chance I get (4+ trips a year) to I prefer staying in Singapore (never))What kind of traveler are you, really?
(close-ended, with options like adventure junkie, culture seeker, and I don’t travel much)What’s a country that’s ruined all other countries for you? (open-ended, optional)Team sunrise, or team “it’s 2am and I’m still up”? (close-ended)Gym rat, occasional jogger, or exercise is a myth to you? (close-ended)Any food rules we should know about? (close-ended, with options like vegetarian, pescatarian, halal)Do you smoke? (close-ended)Be honest! What does your room look like right now? (close-ended, with options like spotless, organised chaos, and tidy up only when needed)Hustle mode, or protecting your personal time? (close-ended, with options like career comes first right now and personal life comes first)Real talk. How much of your day disappears into your phone? (close-ended)Describe your social energy. Are you the life of the party, or the one who left an hour ago? (close-ended)How important is it for you that a match brings the same energy, or do opposites attract for you? (close-ended)After a brutal work week, what’s your reset button? (close-ended, with options like alone time at home and going out and socialising)New city, new hobby, new anything. How do you feel about the unknown? (close-ended, with options like love it and prefer to stick to what I know)When you’re feeling a lot, what do you actually do about it? (close-ended, with options like express openly and through actions rather than words)How do you like to be loved? (close-ended, pick up to three, with the five love languages as options)How do you express love? (close-ended, pick up to three, also with the five love languages as options)Non-stop texting, or comfortable silence. Where do you land? (close-ended)Mid-disagreement, what’s your gut instinct? (close-ended)Paint us a picture. What does your dream first date look like? (open-ended, optional)What are your non-negotiable green flags in a partner?