Snail is currently paused and not matching new participants. This page describes the ritual we hope to offer again if a future cohort opens.
Join the future cohort list with basic biographical details. If a future cohort opens, we may follow up with next steps and invite you to write and mail us your intro letter.
This will be a short letter that you write to your potential match partners. We will use the letter to help us match you. Think of it as a stimulating creative exercise rather than a performative dating app profile. We’ll send you prompts to make it a fun writing experience.
We don’t employ the usual dealbreaker filtering of dating apps. We believe that the courtship experience is best framed as a process of curious inquiry and gradual discovery rather than a database search for “the one… on paper.” Keep an open mind. If you can’t let go of your typical longlist of dealbreakers when considering who is worth your energy, the Snail ritual may not be for you.
If matching resumes and you mail back your intro packet, we will work on finding you a match. You will only have one match at a time. It may take some weeks for us to find you a match, and you are not guaranteed to receive one.
If matching resumes, we flip a coin. If you’re randomly selected to send first, you will receive a packet in the mail containing your match’s intro letter and photo.
If you’re selected to receive first, you’ll await your counterpart’s first letter in your mailbox.
When you receive a letter, you have one week to write back or request a new match. After one week with no reply, we will follow up via email to see whether you’ve taken the match offline or want to request a new match.
Snail will provide envelopes as well as stickers for sealing your mail. Seal your letter to your match in a stamped but unaddressed #9 envelope, and enclose it in a #10 envelope addressed to Snail’s PO Box with your full name and return address. We will open the #10 envelope and forward the #9 envelope along to your match. We forward letters to protect both parties’ privacy until you choose to exchange personal contact info. We do not read your mail, except for your intro letter.
USPS successfully delivers First-Class Mail 97.6% of the time. Take a picture of your letter before sealing in case mail is lost and you need to re-send.
A match is considered whole once each partner has sent at least one letter. If you are selected to send the first letter and you prefer not to, your match credit will entitle you to one additional match attempt.
You may only have one active match at a time. If you take a match offline, we expect that you will not request a new match until you feel substantively complete with your previous match.
Let us know so that we can deactivate your account.
Pricing for future cohorts is TBD
Pricing for future cohorts is TBD
You provide postage: two Forever stamps per letter so that we can forward mail without revealing your address. Forever stamps are currently $0.78 each for a total of $1.56 per forwarded letter. A book of 20 stamps is $15.60 at any post office, UPS Store, Stamps.com, etc.
If Snail reopens, participants may be invited to share candid feedback on the experience at hello@snaildating.com or through occasional surveys.