Able2Love: Disabled Dating

Able2Love is the UK dating and friendship app built for disabled people, and for everyone open enough to want us. Dating if you want it, community if you do not, and somewhere to talk when you are lonely either way.

I built it because people like me get judged before we have said a word, for what we sit in and how we look. So I made meeting people work differently. Here, who you are arrives before your photo does.

WHO IT IS FOR

Wheelchair users, deaf and hard of hearing people, blind and low vision people, autistic and ADHD adults, people with cerebral palsy, MS, spinal injuries, amputees, anyone with chronic pain, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, ME, EDS, POTS, epilepsy, a learning disability, a brain injury, an invisible illness or a mental health condition. And the genuine, open minded people who want to meet us: interabled relationships start here.

THE CIRCLE, A COMMUNITY FIRST

• Shine today: post a selfie and show how brightly you shine. Everyone sees it, nobody can message you unless you like them back

• Polls the whole Circle votes on, every day

• Voice notes in the feed and voice replies, so a chain of people can just talk

• Reply to anything with one tap, no @ing anyone

• Rooms: the Lounge, Late Night for insomniacs and anyone the pain keeps up, Manchester, United States

• Tonight: live video playing in the app, with people watching together

• Games you can play with someone: chess, 2048, Connect Four, battleships and more

• Say "I'm here" with one tap on the days you have no words

• Spoons: show how much energy you have today, so a slow reply reads as a low day, not a rejection

DATING, WHEN YOU CHOOSE IT

• Dating is switched off until you switch it on, so you can just make friends

• Discover people near you, like them, and chat when you both like each other

• Blind Date: a voice call with someone compatible, photos locked until you both want more

• Talk To Me: put your phone down and let the app introduce people out loud, hands free, built for blind and low vision members

• Here Now: see who is genuinely around you, when you choose to be found

MADE TO BE USED BY EVERYONE

• Works with your screen reader, VoiceOver and TalkBack, and follows your phone's own text size

• Type to Speak in calls, so someone who cannot use their voice can still go on a voice date

• Captioned, sign friendly calls and voice notes throughout

• A date planner that finds step free, accessible venues near you

• Access needs sit openly on the profile, so nobody has to ask

SAFE AND KIND

• Report or block anyone from any post, comment or profile

• A quick photo ID age check before dating, private chats or the adult rooms; verified members carry a badge everywhere

• A gentle nudge before anything cruel is sent, and a hard stop on hate

• Real people, no fake profiles, moderators who are labelled as moderators

Made in Salford, Greater Manchester, by one disabled founder who wanted this to exist. Free. Come and be astonished.