Narratively

Narratively

Share this post

Narratively
Narratively
The Code of Love
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More
Secret Lives

The Code of Love

Inside the algorithm that drives one of the web's most popular dating sites.

Kat Vecchio
Feb 13, 2013
∙ Paid

Share this post

Narratively
Narratively
The Code of Love
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More
Share
Photos by Jessica Bal

There are more than eight million people in New York City, and a myriad of ways to meet them. Given our increasing reliance on social media to stay connected with the people we already know, it’s no surprise that more and more of us are forgoing bars, clubs, sports teams and happy hours, and instead turning to the web to find love.

Some 800,000 New Yorkers now have accounts on OkCupid, a Manhattan-based dating website founded in 2004. These users are counting on four Ivy League math majors (OkCupid’s founders) to find their soul mates—or at least someone to spend a fun Friday night with. I sat down with one of the company’s founders, Christian Rudder, as well as the site’s Chief Technology Officer, Tom Quisel, to talk about how the OkCupid matching algorithm works. Rudder and Quisel revealed some of the invisible controls used to create a better user experience, as well as what their massive cache of data can—and can’t—tell you about your prospective dates. Quisel …

Keep reading with a 7-day free trial

Subscribe to Narratively to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.

Already a paid subscriber? Sign in
© 2025 Narratively, Inc.
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start writingGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture

Share

Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More