Ghosting Is Laid to Rest

New Austin-only dating app brings romance back to the swiping scene

The After app tackles ghosting, noncommittal matching, using dates as tour guides, and more.

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A new, Austin-based dating app called After wants to fix some of the most painful parts of online dating, starting this September. The “unapologetically romantic” dating app that’s currently only open to Austin residents is ready to help daters find love with features that indicate whether you’re a local or visitor, daily positive affirmations to promote mental wellbeing, a requirement to share a reason before you unmatch with someone to curb ghosting, and more.

Users can sign up for the waitlist now, before the app officially launches later this month. Plus, they can meet other singles IRL at After’s kickoff bash at Latchkey. That'll be September 26 from 7-10 pm.

Singles are ready to mingle in Austin, that’s for sure. Austin was named the fifth-best city in the United States for dating in late 2023, and 57% of the city’s population is single. (That’s about 20% higher than the Texas average.) And yet, you probably often hear from your single friends — or know from your own experience — that finding love, especially while using apps, can be hard.

After Founder Katie Dissanayake, who has a decade of experience working in the dating industry, experienced her own online dating dissatisfaction: before she met her husband on Tinder, she dealt with “the ghosting and disrespect and fatigue of swiping all day long.”

After’s Goodbye Ghosting feature was created to fix “the number one problem you hear about,” according to Dissanayake: ghosting on matches without a word.

When a user unmatches with someone on After, they can choose from a list of reasons why, like the vibes are off, distance is an issue, etc. Then the app will automatically send that user a “kind, unique message” that lets them know the conversation is over.

“A lot of people just don't want to have that awkward conversation,” she says. “The feature was really designed to promote accountability and also respect a choice that empowers one user, but also makes the other user feel better about the situation.”

She also commonly heard from Austin daters who were frustrated with the transient nature of dating in a city that’s a popular tourist and work trip destination.

“We've heard a lot of people say that they'll match with somebody only to find out that they're only here for the weekend, or they'll go out on a date, and then they just feel like they were used as a tour guide,” Dissanayake says.

To address this, After users will be able to say whether they’re a local or visitor, where they’re visiting from, and whether they’re open to long-distance dating.

Another dating grumble? Matches that sit there and go nowhere because neither party starts a conversation or someone doesn't reply. On After, untouched matches expire after a while, and if someone messages you, you’re required to either respond or end the match before you can message anyone else. You also can’t like or dislike a profile till you scroll down to see more, encouraging more thoughtfulness and less mindless swiping.

“We tend to see with swiping apps that it becomes almost gamified, and it's just [something to do when you’re bored],” Dissanayake says. “We wanted more intentionality with After.”

Instead of instantly seeing a photo on each profile, you’ll see a blurb about “what makes that person themselves.” Then, yes, there are photos, and several sections meant to help people open up and be more vulnerable, including different prompts to help you describe yourself in life (What does your everyday life look like?), love (What’s your love language?), and online (a place to show off your specially curated Spotify playlist).

Could it be true that romance isn’t dead online? Through daily mental health check-ins and daily empowering mantras, Dissanayake wants After to help make it so. It also presents supportive dating guides including how to stick to your boundaries and alcohol-free date ideas.

“We're trying to take care of the person beyond just dating and allow them to concentrate on finding a really romantic, loved up situation,” Dissanayake says. “I don't know that we can fix all the Peter Pans in the world, but what I'm hoping to do is to create a community of people who actually want to be on the app and are looking for real connections.”

After goes live on September 26, but users can join the waitlist now to fill out their profiles and get ready to give a great first impression. Plus, you anyone join After in person for the launch party at Latchkey. There, guests can donate their ex’s clothing, share embarrassing stories anonymously, take a new profile picture with a professional photographer, and, hopefully, fall madly in love with another single Austinite.

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Red Light

San Antonio leads Texas on ending horse-drawn carriage rides by 2030

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Horses will no longer pull carriages on the streets of downtown San Antonio.

San Antonio has pulled off something that the rest of Texas has yet to do, but it didn't come without some contentious conversations. City Council has unanimously voted (with one abstention) to phase out the use of horse-drawn carriages over the next five years. That means by January 1, 2030, there will be none on the streets at all; instead, there will be electric carriages.

These plans have been in the making since 2022 — if not always at the same level of intensity — when District 2 Councilmember Jalen McKee-Rodriguez and District 3 Councilmember Phyllis Viagran wrote up some concerns about the horses' wellbeing. A special session at the end of October 2024 hinted to San Antonians that the end for this practice was neigh — sorry, nigh — and the final vote was made on December 12. In addition to accepting the plan, it extended its timeframe by two years.

The initial proposal included worries about the horses' exposure to traffic and pollution, as well how their presence might exacerbate those issues for the environment at large by slowing traffic. It also raised concerns about the effects of standing or walking on hard surfaces for too long, or spending time in extreme weather.

At the December 12 meeting, San Antonians gave impassioned speeches about animal welfare — both to call attention to the need for better conditions and to defend the reputations and jobs of current horse drivers — but it wasn't the first time the council heard from the public about the issue.

In a prior city survey, 50,476 respondents weighed in. Of those respondents, 51.98 percent said they liked the idea to "Transition horse-drawn carriages to electric carriages and pedicabs and ban horse drawn carriages completely." There were alternative solutions listed, but respondents were less drawn to them.

A cultural divide emerged in the data and continued in the December meeting: some people avoided the carriages because they worried about the treatment of the horses, while others enjoyed them because of their historical echoes and living legacy. Many speakers in favor of the plan used this to form their argument, raising questions about history versus progress.

More tangible objections to the plan hinged on the businesses — specifically five companies — and jobs that would be lost, which was the main factor behind extending the adjustment period.

Discussions about the particulars of the electric vehicles are still to come, as confirmed in the discussion near the end of the meeting. Councilmember Jalen McKee-Rodriguez addressed concerns about what would happen to the horses, mentioning the Brady Hunter Foundation as a future partner in finding them rescue homes.

Some council members also brought up rhetorical questions about animal exploitation by groups like Sea World, the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo, military and police forces, and even various groups in the Fiesta parade, although these did not come with a formal motion to pick the issues up.

This decision could have a ripple effect on other Texas cities. Dallas has recently considered a similar ban, but it appears to have stalled; Austin's attempts at a ban have been unsuccessful, but according to the Austin-American Statesman, only one operator is permitted to bring horses downtown. She declines to do so because the long hours are unfair to her and the horses. Houston does have horse-drawn carriages, and there seems to be little conversation about banning them.

Cities like Chicago and Salt Lake City have led the charge in the United States with some of the most prominent successful bans. Other cities around the world with bans include Brussels and Guadalajara, which both switched to electric models. Bans that have been around for years, like Guadalajara's and Prague's, still aren't out of the woods — people are still pushing back on the decision, so it sounds like San Antonio still has much work cut out for it.

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