The one-line
Linger is the friend-finder for people who'd rather meet over coffee than match online. No swiping, no dating, no algorithm. Just nearby people who share your vibe and want to grab a coffee, take a hike, or play board games.
Fact sheet
- Founded: 2025, Washington, DC
- Status: Pre-launch, raising a $3M seed
- Launch market: DC metro — the neighborhood with the most waitlist signups goes first
- Business model: Linger+ subscription ($39/yr; $24/yr founding-member rate), sponsored venue partnerships, curated paid events
- Trust & safety: Optional ID verification, city-level location only, 1-hour SLA on urgent reports, 24/7 hotline, AI-assisted moderation pipeline
- Not: A dating app, an event platform, an algorithmic feed, or an AI companion
Why we exist
Adult loneliness has doubled since 2003. 59% of adults say making friends gets harder after 30. The U.S. Surgeon General called loneliness a public health crisis on par with smoking 15 cigarettes a day. Linger is built for that gap — the one between online connection and real human company.
How we're different
- vs. Bumble BFF: No swiping. Friendship isn't a binary attraction decision.
- vs. Meetup: No walking into a room of 30 strangers and hoping. 1:1 introductions structured around a specific hangout.
- vs. dating apps generally: Treating Linger as a dating app is a reportable offense, not a tolerated misuse.
Brand & press kit
Download the full brand & press kit — logos (SVG), boilerplate, fact sheet, press-release starter, social-post bank, media FAQ, the visual brand guide (HTML), and design tokens (CSS + JSON).
Need founder photos, product screenshots, or the investor deck? Email press@linger.city with your outlet and what you need — we reply within one business day.
Quotes you can use
"Technology promised to connect us. Mostly, it just isolated us behind a glow. Linger is built for the part of being human that needs to actually be in the room."
— Linger founding principle
Media contact
For interviews, comment, or asset requests: press@linger.city. We reply within one business day.