Jigsaw (formerly known as JigTalk dating app) is a personality-based
online dating
Online dating, also known as internet dating, virtual dating, or mobile app dating, is a method used by people with a goal of searching for and interacting with potential romantic or sexual partners, via the internet. An online dating service ...
application. The face of the user in this application is hidden using a digital
jigsaw puzzle
A jigsaw puzzle (with context, sometimes just jigsaw or just puzzle) is a tiling puzzle that requires the assembly of often irregularly shaped interlocking and mosaicked pieces. Typically each piece has a portion of a picture, which is comple ...
and the face reveals piece by piece through profile interactions and message exchanges. The concept was granted a
US patent
Under United States law, a patent is a right granted to the inventor of a (1) process, machine, article of manufacture, or composition of matter, (2) that is new, useful, and non-obvious. A patent is the right to exclude others, for a limit ...
in early 2021.
History
In 2016, Alex Durrant and Max Adamski released a beta app called JigTalk, which covered and revealed entire user photos based on the word count of the messages sent.
Later, JigTalk became the first British company to enter and graduate from
NASDAQ
The Nasdaq Stock Market (; National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the U.S. by volume, and ranked second on the list ...
’s Milestone Makers incubator in San Francisco. JigTalk officially launched the application in London in 2019. During the
COVID-19 lockdown
During the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of non-pharmaceutical interventions, particularly lockdowns (encompassing stay-at-home orders, curfews, quarantines, and similar societal restrictions), were implemented in numero ...
, the company rebranded to Jigsaw covering only the users’ faces and launched in the US in 2021. In February 2021, the application received seed funding of £2.7 million ($3.7 million) from The Relationship Corp., and other angel investors.
It has more than 150,000 registered users in the UK and US, as of November 2021. The company headquarters is in
Manchester
Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
in the United Kingdom with 14 employees.
Overview
The application is compatible with
Android and
iOS
Ios, Io or Nio (, ; ; locally Nios, Νιός) is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides. It is situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about long an ...
operating systems.
The focus of Jigsaw Dating is on conversation rather than on photos. In this application, the users’ faces are covered with a digital jigsaw puzzle made up of 16 pieces. The pieces are removed gradually as the pair mutually exchange messages. The full face is revealed after a pre-set amount of in-app engagement.
Lawsuit Against S’More
In November 2022, Jigsaw Dating Limited sued competitor
S’More for allegedly infringing its patented feature that gradually reveals profile photos during conversations. The feature, protected under U.S. Patent No. 11,483,276, is central to Jigsaw’s focus on personality-driven dating.
The lawsuit was settled in February 2023 after S’More removed the contested feature. Jigsaw CEO Alex Durrant emphasized the app’s commitment to innovation, stating, “Competition is welcome, but we’ll fiercely protect our intellectual property.”
Jigsaw continues to lead in promoting deeper connections by prioritizing quality conversations over superficial swiping.
References
External links
{{Official website, https://jigsaw.co/
Online dating services of the United Kingdom
Online dating applications