BARE: How to Date Authentically - Allure, Authenticity, and Accountability
Why We Chose Our Values for Values-Based Dating
When we set out to revive BARE Dating, we wanted to anchor it in values that truly matter in human connection and while navigating how to date authentically. Dating apps are everywhere, promising fun, dates, or the perfect matching algorithm, but these claims can often feel hollow and gimmicky, especially after being on a dating app for a while without getting these perfect matches and dates. For us, the BARE team, allure, authenticity, and accountability are more than words; they signal how we hope people experience connection with BARE. For that reason, we thought it was important to spell out these values from the very get-go, especially for those exploring non-traditional relationships and seeking mindful dating experiences. Understanding authentic dating begins with clear values.
Our three values are as follows:
Allure, because for us, the word itself sparks cheekiness, innuendo and playfulness. It's aspirational without being superficial, the magnetic pull that doesn't always need explanation. Allure is the path to mindful dating and learning how to date authentically.
Authenticity, because it is about showing up as yourself, embracing difference, and fostering honest, meaningful conversations. In a world of filters and rehearsed messaging, authenticity seems like a radical concept. It means learning how to date authentically, while still being the individual you are.
Accountability, because it ensures that BARE remains a safe and respectful space. It's not policing; it's a quiet commitment to honesty and integrity from setting up your profile, going through security and checks, to interactions you have with other app users.
Together, these values form quite a compelling compass: playful curiosity grounded in respect, guided by honesty, and open to the unpredictable. They define BARE dating values and create a foundation for an authentic dating app experience that allows everyone to navigate how to date authentically.
What Values Can Do (From My Experience in Team Training and Media Psychology)
The word 'values' itself has an interesting history. It comes from the Latin valere, meaning "to be strong" or "to be of worth." In English, value first referred to worth or price, only later taking on the sense of guiding principles or standards. It wasn't until the 20th century that organisations began to speak of values in workplace culture in the way we now take for granted, formal statements meant to define culture and behaviour. By the late 1980s and 1990s, articulating corporate values had become standard practice, as businesses realised culture could be treated as a strategic asset (MIT Sloan Management Review).
While organisations in the UK began making formal statements of corporate values in the 1990s, adopting ideas like integrity, teamwork, and excellence, it wasn't until the early 2000s that values became embedded parts of HR practices, leadership training, and everyday workplace culture (https://www.smrs.co.uk/creating-a-values-driven-culture). The NHS Constitution's 2009 listing of core values marked a significant moment: values weren't just posters on walls, but declared guiding principles for patient care and staff behaviour. At BARE, we're drawing from that history: values as lived orientation, not just polished language.
My own encounter with values came through two very different professional roles.
First, as a corporate trainer, I worked with teams where values were often the foundation of culture. Usually, the team itself had already established its values, and anyone wishing to join the organisation was expected to align with them. The fascinating part was that while the values were shared, each individual carried their own associations and interpretations of what those words meant. The framework was collective, but the meanings were personal—much like values in dating, where shared principles guide individual expression and inform how to date authentically.
Later, as a British Psychological Society-certified media psychologist, the context was different but equally illuminating. Participants in shows or projects were already familiar with the values underpinning the production. My task was to sit with them in more personal, in-depth discussions: Do these values align with your own? Can your own values accommodate them? And, crucially, can you do so without undermining your personal life outside the show? These conversations revealed how values aren't abstract statements but living tensions, negotiated, sometimes resisted, sometimes reimagined—essential lessons in understanding how to date authentically.
It is from both of these experiences that we approach BARE as a values-based dating app and an authentic dating app. For us, values are not corporate slogans or lofty aspirations. They are invitations to reflect, to converse, and to shape the culture of the space we're creating, together. We hope that users who sign up to BARE share our values, but also have their own, singular interpretation of them, and approach their matching and dating mindfully, embracing BARE authenticity and learning how to date authentically.
A Journey Rebuilt: Creating a Connection Dating App
BARE first launched in 2019 as an experimental space for open-minded dating, for non-traditional relationships. It wasn't about endless swipes or ticking boxes on a profile. It was about sparking curiosity, creating subtle gestures, and giving people the chance to explore connection beyond convention through mindful dating practices and discovering how to date authentically.
The app gained traction quickly, and its digital footprint remains active online. The sustained interest over time made us realise that BARE had something worth revisiting, but this time, with new features, refreshed IP, and a more considered approach to helping people understand how to date authentically.
Reviving BARE isn't about recreating the past; it's about evolving it and building on what is already out there, as history makes us, but does not define us. Plus, there is a bonus added from a quick but thorough sign-up process we had an opportunity to refine based on our experience and valuable feedback from our past users. One thing remains unchanged: we remain curious and open about the user experience and subsequently about what the app itself will become as a connection dating app that empowers users to discover how to date authentically.
The Experience of Connection Through BARE Dating Values
Connection with BARE starts uniquely. Before photos or swipes, there's a gesture and a mark, based on a new, innovative feature which will be revealed when the time is right. The meeting between, let's be honest, two strangers, is intentional. In real life, attraction isn't remembered in words; it's felt in moments, images and impressions—this is the essence of how to date authentically.
So BARE's authentic dating app intention is far from transactional. It's playful, thoughtful, and introspective. Whether you're after intimacy, curiosity, provocation, or something undefined, BARE invites the unfolding, not the conclusion. Our BARE dating values of Allure, Authenticity and Accountability speak to it, being a mixture of emotional states associated with meeting someone new for a relationship, something that may seem flighty and so imaginary to things you need to do and the state of mind you have to embrace to keep yourself grounded and safe through values-based dating. These principles guide users in understanding how to date authentically.
Why BARE Matters Now: Mindful Dating for Modern Connections
At BARE Dating, we emphasise nuance. We celebrate desire, intimacy, phantasy, connection, otherness, reflection, curiosity, indeterminacy, singularity, and love. It is a long list, yes, but not without intention. Each word carries its own weight, its own shade of meaning, and yet together they sketch something larger. Perhaps that something is BARE itself—a space where you can truly learn how to date authentically.
Here, love doesn't need to come with guarantees or be bound to a commitment that feels stifling or outdated. Encounters can be playful or profound, reflective or sensual. What matters is curiosity; the openness to explore and experiment, to remain attentive, to notice sparks in unexpected places. This is the foundation of values in dating and what makes BARE a unique connection dating app where people explore how to date authentically.
Most dating apps are shaped by swipes, algorithms, and polished photos, rehearsed and filtered to perfection. BARE resists that pull, not with gimmicks, but with a gentle attention to how connection really begins: in curiosity, in hesitation, in the subtle energy of something unforced. Our approach to BARE and mindful dating sets us apart and demonstrates our commitment to authentic dating.
This revival isn't just about relaunching an app. It's about carving out a space where exploration takes precedence over certainty, where meetings aren't rushed toward closure but are allowed the time and space to become discovery through values-based dating principles. This is fundamentally about redefining how to date authentically in modern times.
Who BARE Is For: Embracing Non-Traditional Relationships
BARE is for people who don't always look for ready-made definitions of what a relationship should be, who don't hope for exhaustive answers but instead, let life and love compel them to seek depth in experiences and experimentation. Dating isn't a checklist, and desire isn't a box to be ticked. You often cannot know for certain what you really want from a relationship, and especially, what the other person wants, at least not at first. That's why conversation matters and why understanding how to date authentically is so important. A good conversation can be the place where two wants begin to circle one another, sometimes aligning, diverging, but always alive with possibility.
Here, three isn't a crowd, ambiguity isn't a problem, and there's no pressure to have it all figured out before you even say hello. Each chat is an invitation to something new, whether it's connection, play, intimacy, or a fleeting moment of curiosity that still manages to linger somehow. This is the beauty of non-traditional relationships and the power of a true connection dating app that teaches how to date authentically.
What grounds all of this are our BARE dating values: allure, authenticity, and accountability. They aren't corporate slogans or neat little labels. They're the principles that make BARE Dating feel different and help users practice mindful dating and learn how to date authentically. Allure keeps things playful and surprising. Authenticity makes space for real encounters where difference sparks interest rather than judgment. Accountability ensures respect, responsibility, and honesty, so the freedom to explore doesn't come at someone else's expense.
Together, they invite you into a space where desire, connection, and discovery can flourish through values-based dating. Whether you're exploring non-traditional relationships or simply seeking a more meaningful way to connect, our authentic dating app provides the framework for you to discover how to date authentically, guided by clear values in dating that honour both freedom and responsibility. Learning how to date authentically means embracing these core principles while remaining true to yourself. This is what makes BARE a truly unique connection dating app in today's landscape.
When you join BARE, you're not just downloading another dating app - you're committing to a different approach, one that prioritises genuine connection and teaches you how to date authentically through every interaction. Our community thrives because members bring that intention to every conversation. The journey of discovering how to date authentically is ongoing, and BARE provides the supportive environment you need to explore, experiment, and connect in ways that feel true to who you are.
FAQs
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Values-based dating means approaching relationships with guiding principles that reflect who you are and what matters most to you. At BARE, that means being driven by allure, authenticity, and accountability - values that shape not only how you connect with others but how you show up for yourself.
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Most dating apps focus on algorithms, looks, or surface-level preferences. BARE prioritises intention and connection. Instead of endless swiping, it encourages mindful gestures, deeper conversations, and meaningful interactions grounded in respect, curiosity, and playfulness.
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Dating authentically means being honest about who you are - your desires, boundaries, and curiosities - without the need to perform or impress. It’s about letting real moments unfold naturally, embracing vulnerability, and staying open to connection without forcing outcomes.
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Not exclusively. While BARE welcomes people exploring non-traditional relationships, it’s ultimately for anyone seeking deeper, more intentional connections. Whether you’re looking for romance, intimacy, or discovery, BARE’s mindful dating approach supports your individual journey.
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Accountability in dating means taking responsibility for your actions and communication. On BARE, that means honesty in profiles, respect during interactions, and awareness of others’ boundaries - creating a safe, values-driven space for authentic connection.
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Allure is about attraction that goes beyond appearances. It’s the subtle spark, the curiosity, the unspoken connection that pulls two people toward each other. BARE reclaims allure as a mindful quality - inviting playfulness, charm, and intrigue without pretence.
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Absolutely. BARE is designed to be intuitive and intentional. For those new to dating apps - or weary of superficial interactions - it offers a refreshing alternative that focuses on real connection, emotional presence, and authentic engagement.
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Expect a space that values quality over quantity. Instead of being bombarded by matches, you’ll encounter moments that feel deliberate and genuine. Each interaction is a chance to explore how to date authentically - with curiosity, kindness, and openness.
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BARE integrates accountability into every level - starting with verified profiles. This ensures a space that prioritises emotional safety and mutual respect while still allowing freedom and exploration.
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Because authenticity is the foundation of trust. When people show up as their real selves, it creates space for honest connection. BARE believes that learning how to date authentically isn’t just about romance - it’s about cultivating self-awareness and relational depth.
