Sonenshine Develops Dating Safety Tool

Netflix’s, “The Tinder Swindler,” turned dating app users, especially Jewish ones, on high alert. In true Netflix documentary style, viewers scratched their heads to comprehend how savvy professional women would fall for a charming Israeli, to the extent that they would hand over their bank accounts.

Native Atlantan Rachel Sonenshine, with a background in advertising and financial technology sales, two years ago ventured into an entrepreneurship to focus on online dating safety and accountability for women. She explained, “My inspiration stemmed from my personal observations and experiences: five of my closest friends, some of whom who hadn’t dated in over 20 years, entered the online dating world. I was quickly blown away by the lack of accountability in this space.

Super smart, beautiful, successful friends are meeting up with men they met on the apps, and they didn’t even know their last names! All they knew about the guy was … whatever he told them. As you will hear from anyone who has been on the apps, they are faced with numerous challenges, including misleading profiles, unsafe behavior, and some pretty unbelievable stories.”

Marketing data supports that dating apps are the No. 1 way people meet spouses, leading to 60 percent of marriages in 2024. According to Sonenshine, the global online dating market is a $10 billion industry and is expected to double by 2033; 70 percent of men have lied about themselves on dating apps; and 75 percent of women say they have experienced some form of sexual violence on the dating apps.

Noting these issues, Sonenshine became aware of the power of community and collective accountability, exemplified by groups, such as, “Are we dating the same guy?” where women support each other by sharing stories and flagging concerns about potential threats. Tea was a popular app for women only to share info about men they have dated. Note that this can be a green flag or positive experience, not all negative. The app performed background lookups and hidden marriage checks. Men could not sign up. Some men complained that this app could lead to defamation and false allegations without their consent. Tea was removed from the app store though there are different versions out. It’s possible that the adage, “A woman scorned” could be unfair. And if someone was so wonderful, why expose him for others to grab?

Overall, this sparked an idea for Sonenshine. Partnering with a friend she built the app, wrthy, a platform designed to provide women with verification, behavioral insights, and shared community experiences, all aimed at making online dating safer, more transparent, and more fun. The target audience for wrthy is women who actively use dating apps who want to better understand potential matches, recognize red flags early, avoid unsafe situations. The app’s services include profile verification, community-driven storytelling, and behavioral analytics, all built to foster trust and accountability.

She added, “This is more than just a safety tool, it’s a movement toward reclaiming women’s power in the online dating space. Our goal is to shift the paradigm, transforming online dating from a risky gamble to an empowering experience where women feel in control and supported.

Sonenshine has raised $260,000 through “angels” and took 18 months to develop the app, getting it into the App Store/Google Play.

She related, “We are not a gossip app — we are about accountability and transparency in the online dating world. In our next phase, men will be able to claim their profiles, see their dating analytics (anonymously) and get to make a public statement for our users to see with a free trial; then, we have monthly, quarterly, and annual plans (annual plan is $19.99).”

A user, Alex said: “Thanks to wrthy, I have a much better sense of who I’m choosing to spend my time with. Everyone has their own experience, whether it’s an ex-boyfriend, a friend from college, or someone you went out with once, so, I don’t feel so in the dark when I am meeting a stranger.”