Press room

In one sentence

Ida is a dating app built in Québec City, inspired by an experimental finding in psychology: one active match at a time.

In the media

“Ida : pour des rencontres singulières… une à la fois” — Alain McKenna, La Presse, PME Inspiration, September 21, 2026 (in French).

The problem

The dominant dating apps monetize attention: endless profile queues, notifications, dozens of simultaneous conversations that lead nowhere. Experimental psychology suggests this model hurts outcomes: given a larger pool of options, people report being less satisfied with the person they chose (D'Angelo & Toma, 2017, Media Psychology).

The product

The core of the app is free; optional subscriptions add optimization tools.

• One active match at a time. You can browse profiles and show interest at any time, but you only ever have one conversation in front of you.
• End-to-end encrypted conversations. The server only stores ciphertext; none of the major dating apps do this.
• Games to break the ice. Two original multiplayer games are played directly inside the encrypted conversation.
• Launched in spring 2026, available on iOS and Android, in French and English. Community concentrated in the Montréal and Québec City areas, about 9 in 10 members French-speaking.

The founder

JF Savard, from Québec City, built Ida alone over four years. A software developer, he holds a master's degree in artificial intelligence from Université Laval. He now runs the whole application — development, infrastructure, marketing, support — with the help of AI agents, while keeping his consulting job, which funds growth. Self-funded: no investors, no debt.

The name

Ida is named after 243 Ida, a binary asteroid: two bodies held in a shared orbit by mutual attraction. Two people, one orbit. Tagline: Share your path.

Material and contact

Logos (SVG and PNG), high-resolution founder photos (credit: Studio le CieL), screenshots and a fact sheet with current numbers, on request at presse@datingwithida.com. Published numbers never count raw "likes": a connection is two people who chose each other and a conversation that opened.