Twenty years ago, the landscape of online dating was markedly different from today's digital matchmaking ecosystem. In the early 2000s, internet dating was entering its nascent stage, gradually moving away from the stigmatized perception of a desperate measure to a more accepted social norm.

The early days of online dating were dominated by websites like Match.com and eHarmony, which required users to fill out comprehensive questionnaires to create profiles. These platforms operated on algorithms designed to match individuals based on compatibility scores derived from their responses. The process was much slower, with communication often limited to emails and, later on, instant messaging within the platform. The concept of swiping left or right was non-existent, and finding a match was more akin to a meticulous search rather than the instantaneous, often superficial, decisions made on today’s apps.