So we're opening a beta, and it will run through TestFlight, Apple's official app for trying pre-release software.

How it will work

Joining takes a minute:

1. Install TestFlight from the App Store
2. Open the HeyU invite link once the doors open
3. TestFlight installs the 3.0 beta, and keeps it updated as we ship improvements

What testers get

• Early access to HeyU 3.0 before it reaches the App Store
• A direct line to us: TestFlight feedback lands straight on our desk, and it genuinely shapes the app
• A community that's small on purpose, so every voice is loud

Want in?

The invite link will be published right here on the news page, and on our Instagram and TikTok, the moment the beta opens.

Prefer a heads-up? Email support@shadowparticle.com with the subject "Beta" and we'll write to you when it's ready.

See you in there.

The honest version of the story: somewhere around a thousand users, HeyU 2.0 started running into the limits of its own foundation. Rather than patch around them, we started over. Here's where that work stands.

Done: the feed

The feed is the heart of HeyU, so it was rebuilt first. Your feed is now generated server-side and tuned to your interests, languages and area, and it's built to stay fast as the community grows.

The pace is still yours. Like, Save or Pass when you're sure. Scroll past when you're not, and that profile simply comes around again later. Rewind brings back the one you didn't mean to pass.

Done: Connections and chat

A mutual Like makes a Connection, and every Connection opens a private one-to-one chat. Chats in 3.0 carry photos, locations, songs and links, with read receipts and typing indicators.

Done: safety and privacy

Every profile photo is reviewed before anyone else can see it.

The safety work is the least visible part of the rebuild and the most important. Every photo passes a review before it appears anywhere in the app. Reporting someone also blocks them instantly. Your exact location never leaves your device, only a coarse area does, and analytics stay off unless you opt in.

What's left

Three things stand between here and launch:

• Moving HeyU 2.0 accounts over to the new foundation
• A round of testing with real people (more on that very soon)
• App Store review

We're close. More soon.

That last part is deliberate. The site makes zero requests to anyone but us. No analytics scripts, no ad pixels, no external fonts. The same privacy posture we hold in the app now holds on the web too.

And now, news

This page is the other new thing. From here on, this is where you'll find:

• Product news and announcements
• Notes on new HeyU versions as they ship
• The occasional look behind the scenes from the studio

If you prefer a feed reader, there's an RSS feed too.

More soon.

Friendship works differently

Dating apps optimize for a very specific outcome. That pressure leaks into everything: how people present themselves, how quickly they judge, how disposable every profile feels.

Finding a friend, a community or a bit of support works differently. It's slower, lower stakes, and more about shared interests than first impressions. So HeyU is built around that:

• The feed is a calm scroll, not a snap-judgment machine. Scrolling past someone isn't a rejection, and they may simply come around again later.
• Profiles lead with interests, languages and what you're looking for, not just photos.
• A Connection only happens when two people Like each other. Nobody can message you out of nowhere.

Words matter

You won't find the word "match" anywhere in HeyU. We call it a Connection, because that's what it is: two people who chose each other. Small thing, but it sets the tone for everything that follows.

If that sounds like your kind of place, HeyU is free on the App Store.