Orthodate
Open Orthodate

Android · Closed testing

Orthodate is coming to Google Play

The Android build is finished. Before it opens to everyone it goes out to a small test group, and there is still room in it. Add the Google account you use on your phone and you will be among the first people in the country with it installed.

  • You see it firstThe closed test group installs the app weeks before it opens on Google Play to everyone else.
  • You shape itReply to any email we send and it goes to the person building the app, not to a ticket queue.
  • Testing costs nothingThere is nothing to pay to be in the test group, and nothing is charged when it ends.

Installed from Google Play like any other app. Nothing sideloaded.

Get it before everyone else

One field. We will add you to the closed test on Google Play.

It has to be the Google account you use on your phone. Google will not let us invite any other address.

We use this address for the test invitation and nothing else. Read the Privacy Policy. This form is protected by Cloudflare Turnstile and the Cloudflare Privacy Policy applies.

What you are testing

The whole app, not a preview of it

This is not a cut-down demo. Everything Orthodate does in the browser today is in the Android build, in your pocket, with notifications that arrive when somebody actually writes to you.

  • The Orthodate Discover screen on Android: three introductions a day, with a shared-jurisdiction highlight.
  • The Orthodate profile screen on Android, offering the live selfie check that earns the verified mark.
  • An Orthodate conversation on Android, arranging coffee after Friday vespers.

  • Every face verified by a human

    A live selfie check, reviewed by eye rather than by an algorithm, with nothing biometric stored.

  • Jurisdiction and practice, not just photos

    Greek, Antiochian, OCA, ROCOR, Serbian, Romanian, Bulgarian, Georgian. Fasting, attendance and the calendar you keep.

  • A daily batch, not an endless feed

    A small set of people each day, chosen carefully, so reading a profile properly is still possible.

  • A parish directory in your pocket

    More than 1,700 Orthodox parishes across the United States and Canada, searchable by map.

  • Profiles published in English

    Written in another language? It is translated for you, with a note saying where it came from.

  • One account, both places

    Set your profile up in the browser today and it is already waiting when the app lands.

How it works

Four steps, and three of them are ours

Closed testing sounds technical and is not. The only thing you do is accept an email from Google.

  1. 01

    You add your Google account

    The form below. It has to be the Google account you use on your phone, because that is the only address Google Play can invite.

  2. 02

    We add you to the test

    Google Play runs closed tests from a list of addresses. Yours goes on it, and nothing else happens to it.

  3. 03

    Google sends the invitation

    The invitation comes from Google, not from us. Accept it once and Orthodate appears in Google Play for you.

  4. 04

    You install it and tell us what breaks

    That is the entire job. Everything you report lands with the person who can fix it.

You do not have to wait to start using Orthodate. It runs in your phone browser today, and the profile you build there is the one the app opens to. Create your profile or read how it works.

Fair questions

Questions about early access

Handing anyone your email address deserves a straight answer about what happens to it. Here is all of it.

What is a closed test on Google Play?

It is how Google lets an app go out to a named group of people before it is public. We give Google a list of email addresses, Google emails each of them an opt-in link, and from then on the app installs and updates from Google Play exactly like any other app. Nothing is sideloaded and nothing asks you to turn off a security setting.

Why do you need my Google account specifically?

Because Google matches the tester list against the account signed in on the phone. An address you can read mail at but do not use on your device will not work: the invitation arrives and the app still will not appear in Google Play. If you are not sure which one it is, open Google Play, tap your picture at the top right, and use the address shown there.

Does it cost anything to test?

No. Being in the test group is free and stays free, and nothing is charged when the test ends. Orthodate has paid plans, and you are welcome to ignore them. The free tier is the same in the app as it is in the browser.

What will you do with my email address?

Two things, and only two: add it to the tester list in the Google Play Console, and send you the confirmation you are expecting. It is not added to a newsletter and it is never passed to an advertiser. Reply to any email from us and we take it off the list.

When does it actually launch?

Very soon, which is a vague answer because Google review timings are outside our control. The honest version is that the build is done and the test group is what stands between it and the public listing. Everyone on this list hears the date before it is announced anywhere else.

Do I need an Orthodate account first?

No, but it helps. If you create your profile in the browser now, it is already there when you install the app, so the first thing you see is people rather than an empty onboarding form.

What about the iPhone version?

It is coming after Android. Tick the second box on the form and you will get one email when it is ready, and nothing else in the meantime.

Can I leave the test group later?

Yes, at any point and without a reason. Reply to the confirmation email and we remove the address, or leave the test from the Orthodate page in Google Play. Leaving the test does not touch your Orthodate account.

The test group fills up before the app goes public

One field, and you are in it. We will email you the moment Google opens the door.

Join the early access list