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No. Barry decides whom he suggests and explains why. The member decides whether they want to get to know that person, and so does the other person. Only when both say yes can they talk to each other directly. What happens after that is up to them.

Nobody reads along live. There is an automatic check for signs involving minors. A team member can look at data as far as their task requires, for example to handle a report. The app and database run in the EU; for AI and other parts we also work with suppliers outside the EU. The privacy statement sets out which data is processed for that. A member can have Barry forget something, and everything he remembers about them is in the copy of their data they can request in My file.

Barry is an AI, not an employee answering under that name. I build and run the service. Reports can be reviewed by a person. In case of abuse we can halt the search or close an account.

Members pay for the conversations with Barry and for the search, not for a guaranteed relationship or a set number of dates. They choose a fixed period and pay once. There is no automatic renewal and no paid priority. Every purchase has a fourteen-day cooling-off period; a member who withdraws gets the unused part back, under the terms.

Members can report someone in the app. A team member reviews the report and can take action, including closing an account. But we can't guarantee who someone is: we do no identity checks or background checks. Barry is not an emergency service either, and conversations are not monitored live. Anyone in immediate danger should call 112.

Barry uses members' preferences and profile, and what they tell him about how they live and what they're looking for. Age, distance and a shared language have to work for both. An automatic assessment of the photo can also play a part. With every suggestion, Barry explains why he thinks the two suit each other. It remains an estimate. Whether it works only shows once they get to know each other.

We aim for the quality of a real matchmaker, but within reach of far more people. Traditional matchmakers are often expensive and work with a smaller group of people they know personally. Barry can talk to everyone who signs up, and the larger that group, the better the chance of a suggestion that really fits.

The network has to grow. At launch we're focusing on Antwerp and the surrounding area. How quickly someone gets a suggestion depends on who takes part and on mutual preferences. That's why we don't promise a match within a set time. If Barry finds no one who fits, he suggests no one.

When signing up, everyone gives a date of birth. Anyone who, by that information, is under 18 cannot sign up. That is a self-declaration, not an identity check. There is also an automatic check for signs involving minors. When in doubt, we can halt the search and assess the situation. If someone turns out to be a minor, the account can be closed.

By our current assessment, no, but we did build Barry with those stricter rules in mind. That classification depends on the use case and the legal criteria, not only on the fact that members say yes or no themselves. We make clear that Barry is an AI and label the AI portraits as such. How suggestions are made automatically and how a member can ask for human review is set out on our AI transparency page.

Because I want to start with one clear question: how do we help people looking for a relationship get to know each other? Friendship and professional networking call for different expectations and a different approach. That's not what Barry is for right now.