Survey Report: Intentional dating trends of 2026; 37 pc of daters are making the sunset clause

They want their dating app usage to be time-bound, bringing in a significant shift to a highly self-aware dating style. This new year, daters are protecting their time, energy, and emotional bandwidth over everything else.

The app's founder and CEO, Ravi Mittal, said, "We are seeing users becoming more intentional in their choices; it started from 2024, but we are hoping for it to peak this year.

The young daters have come a long way; they are doing regular check-ins to see if a match is just not going anywhere and changing things up based on deep introspection; they are looking for compatibility that isn't just values and hobbies.

Career has become a significant factor in their compatibility.

We are really glad to see the young daters take online dating from a casual fling spot to a platform for conscious and calculated dating."

The survey was done among 7583 active users from Tier 1, 2, and 3 cities between the ages of 22 and 35.

Participants were selected from different professional and educational backgrounds for a comprehensive study of the upcoming trends.

The sunset clause

No more endless scrolling.

Daters from Tier 1, 2, and 3 cities shared that they are setting a clear timeline for their dating app usage, the most common being 6 months and 1 year, with some going for the "until I meet the right one".

The sunset clause is trending in 2026 because dating is no longer just a background activity. Singles from across the country are looking for more outcome-based app usage instead of doom scrolling every day. 

Mindful exit plans are leading to faster and more meaningful matches, reported almost 28 per cent of the survey participants.

Anjali (27) from Pune, said, "This year I have decided to try out online dating for six months; I think it will give me a sense of purpose, and the deadline would be good for someone like me who doom scrolls even on dating apps."

Matching ambitions

Love matters, but so do lifestyle and career choices. Over 41 per cent of daters in 2026 prioritise career rhythm, ambition matching, and work-life balance while looking for a partner.

Vihaan, a 28 year old CA, said, "Career matching isn't about finding a partner in the same field; rather, it is about the same career goals, pace, and priorities. Say I am starting a business; I'd want a partner who understands the unpredictability that comes with it.

In my case, I really want someone who understands how hectic my work can get, with long hours and working overtime. These things can eventually create issues in relationships."

Retro compatibility

Millennials above 30 years of age are looking for their future in the past.

3 in 5 millennial daters from Tier 1 and 2 cities are seen matching based on shared nostalgia: 90s and early 2000s music, pop culture, movies, similar childhood rituals, and having lived through almost similar phases of life growing up.

Ankita (32) from Delhi, joked, "I bonded with a match over discussions on pre-social media dating, while chatting on a dating app. Also, it felt great that he got all my references without having to look them up."

Connection reviews

According to 18 per cent of women and 11 per cent of men between 25 and 35 years of age revealed that they borrowed a workplace habit and turned it into a dating practice: intentional check-ins on ongoing matches every few weeks.

They check for communication gaps, connection rut, expectation vs reality, and emotional satisfaction. Ashish (29), working in Bengaluru, said, "It's better than dragging a dead connection or silently wondering if things are going to go the way I want them to be.

I do an internal review in my mind, and I have even looped in my matches sometimes, asking them what they feel about the connection. Trust me, it has saved me a lot of time and energy on the wrong people."

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