Match Group Overhauls Upward App to Court Young Singles Seeking Marriage
The relaunch introduces specific tools for traditional courtship, targeting a demographic that says it prioritizes long-term commitment over casual dating.
By Jonathan Hoffmann ·
A newly married man in a cowboy hat walks through a meadow in a recent Upward advertisement.
Match Group recently relaunched Upward, a dating app it launched in 2020 for Christian singles. The redesign targets a wider group of young people who prioritize traditional values, regardless of their specific religious affiliation. The company aims to capture a segment of Generation Z that still views marriage as a primary goal. This strategy relies heavily on new features designed to facilitate traditional courtship rituals.
The shift follows a 2026 Singles in America study by Match Group. The survey found that 72 percent of Gen Z respondents said they want to get married. Additionally, a quarter of singles aged 18 to 34 identified with traditional values regarding family, faith, and community. Lauren DeFord, director of brand marketing at Match, described the change as a brand shift. She stated the app now welcomes people who share these goals but may not lead with a faith-first mindset. Christian singles remain central to the platform's mission.
The app retains its tiered subscription model and swipe mechanics similar to Tinder. Users are encouraged to add a Faith Statement describing their relationship to God. Two new features define the relaunch. Chivalry Mode nudges men to send the first message, a format reminiscent of Bumble's earlier rules. Marriage Timeline allows users to indicate when they hope to wed. Match Group frames Upward as the home of modern courtship. The promotional campaign uses Western-style imagery, including a Wanted poster aesthetic. One video features a man opening a car door and gifting flowers under the text chivalrymaxxing.
External experts offer a mixed view of the trend. Daniel Cox, director of the Survey Center on American Life, argues that Gen Z has a less clear sense of relational priorities. He suggests the decline in social and civic life has created a hyperindividualistic culture. An American Institute for Boys and Men survey found that 44 percent of Gen Z men had no relationship experience during their teen years. This rate is double that of older men. Cox sees the traditional trend as a reaction to a lack of cultural norms around courtship. He notes that daters are desperate for a script, though he does not believe the traditional version is ideal for all young people. A 2023 Pew Research study found that only 23 percent of adults considered marriage extremely or very important to a fulfilling life. In contrast, 61 percent cited close friendships. The share of high school seniors expecting to marry fell from 80 percent in 1993 to 67 percent in 2023. Cox warns that Match's marriage statistic may be skewed by age, as older generations may have already married or divorced. Match says its survey of 5,000 unmarried US singles is demographically representative of the Census.
User experiences have been varied since the relaunch. Adreanna Pulliam, a 25-year-old opera singer in Bloomington, Indiana, says marriage has always been her end goal. She encountered profiles from men she described as MAGA types in the red-pill and trad wife mold. She also saw odd profile photos, including one taken at a funeral. Pulliam was confused by the app allowing users to list body types like chubby and permitting married people to join. Tauti, a social work student in California, quit the app within 48 hours. She said the experience turned her off from Christian dating altogether on TikTok. Heidi Marais, a teacher and single mother, questioned why agnostics are allowed on the platform. Upward declined to share active user numbers. The app has faced complaints since its debut about functionality and automatic bans. One App Store reviewer called it janky as hell. Pulliam believes the app could find an audience within Christian private university communities. She adds that the app works for people with a slightly more closed mind.
The next phase of the Upward rollout will focus on expanding the user base in key metropolitan areas. Match Group plans to release quarterly updates based on user feedback from the first month of the new design. The company will monitor engagement metrics for the Chivalry Mode and Marriage Timeline features. No further changes to the subscription pricing structure have been announced for the upcoming quarter.
