Heybaby shut down. Here's what we're building instead.
If you searched for heybaby and came up empty, that's why. The app closed in May 2024. Pretty Good Dating is for the same people: filter to Yes, browse without swiping, family intent upfront.
What happened
Heybaby is gone
Heybaby launched in 2020 as an iOS dating app for people who want kids or already have kids. Three dads built it because mainstream apps buried family intent. For a few years it worked. Thousands of single parents and wannabe parents used it.
On May 22, 2024, heybaby shut down. Accounts deleted. App pulled from the store. If you go to heybaby.com today, the only message is that it's no longer available.
So if you're googling "heybaby alternative" or wondering where everyone went, you're not alone. The niche didn't disappear. The app did.
Credit where it's due
Heybaby proved the demand was real
People want dating where family intent isn't awkward. Where you don't find out on date five that someone is "open to it" at best. Heybaby put kids front and center. That was the right idea.
We're not here to trash a dead app. We're here because the problem still exists and the dedicated solution doesn't anymore.
Then vs now
What heybaby had vs what we're building
Same intent. Different model. And we're still here.
| Heybaby (closed) | Pretty Good Dating | |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Shut down May 2024 | Launching now. Founding members join free |
| Core focus | People who want or have kids | Values-first dating; family-minded people especially welcome |
| How you browse | Swipe one profile at a time | Browse a list. Scan many profiles at once |
| Finding people who want kids | Everyone pledged they want/have kids | Filter Wants Kids → Yes with one click |
| Family intent on profiles | Kids preference in profile | Wants Kids is a primary highlighted tag on every card |
| Visibility | Swipe stack decided who you saw | No algorithm hiding your profile |
| First contact | Match, then message | Chat requests with daily limits (no spam) |
| Cost | Freemium app | First 1,000 founding members free |
The real difference
"Open to it" isn't good enough
Heybaby got everyone in the door with a pledge: I want or have kids. But swipe apps still leave you guessing about intensity. "Open to it" vs "I can't wait to be a parent" are not the same thing.
For a lot of us, myself included, we want someone looking forward to being a good mother or a good father. Someone who answered Yes, not "maybe" or "convince me."
On Pretty Good Dating, you click the Wants Kids filter and select Yes. You're browsing only people who want children. Wants Kids appears as a primary tag on every profile card, right alongside distance and location. Marriage intent gets its own callout too.
See it in action
One click to people who said Yes
The Wants Kids filter does what heybaby's pledge did, but sharper. You choose Yes. No maybes unless you want them.
Questions
FAQ
Is Heybaby still available?
No. It shut down May 22, 2024. The app is gone from the App Store and all accounts were permanently deleted.
What's a good heybaby alternative?
Pretty Good Dating is built for the same people. Filter to Wants Kids: Yes, browse without swiping, see family intent on every profile. Founding members join from anywhere.
What about Stir or other parent dating apps?
Stir (from Match) focuses on single parents who already have kids. Pretty Good Dating is for people who want to find a partner and build a family together, whether or not you have kids now.
Miss heybaby? Try what we're building.
Join as a founding member. First 1,000 users get lifetime perks.
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