Technical Tips for Using DTHS
The State of DTHS Tech
DT Heart & Soul development has always lived in the land of “just-enough”; we are occasionally able to find expert development help at a decent price, but usually we just get by as best we can. (To that point: If you know an experienced Android app developer who might be willing to volunteer, please let me know, or have them get in touch with me!)
Overall, I would say that DTHS is “working”–singles keep meeting!–but not everything fires on all cylinders. As we continue to seek out answers and resources, you can meanwhile use this guide to successfully navigate the service in its current state.
The Legacy Site
https://dtheartandsoul.com is where DTHS has lived since 2009; it’s still active, and actively used.
The App Platform
This consists of a webapp, an Android app, and an iOS app. Note that this is a completely separate system from the legacy site, although they do talk to each other in a limited fashion.
How do you tell whether you’re on the legacy site or the new platform?
The legacy site is only a website, and only accessible via https://dtheartandsoul.com. It has the black-red-and-gold logo.
The new platform is accessed via https://app.dtheartandsoul.com (note the “app” in the URL), as well as via the iPhone or Android app. It has a gold-and-tan logo.
Which Platform Should I Choose?
The answer depends mainly on (a) which features you prefer, and (b) who’s on which platform.
Which features?
The new platform is available not only from the browser as a webapp, but also as a native app on your phone. It has better chat and notification features.
The legacy platform has more profile fields available, and the search/filter features are more powerful.
Who’s on Which Platform?
First, note that a single subscription is valid across both platforms; see Subscription Tips for making sure this happens for you.
Many but not all singles seem to be on both platforms. It’s up to you, but it’s at least possible you’ll make more contacts if you have an account on each one.
Subscription Tips
If you want your subscription and verification info to apply to both platforms, first set up an account and get verified on the legacy platform, https://dtheartandsoul.com, and then sign up as a new user on the new platform, https://app.dtheartandsoul.com (note the “app” portion of the URL), using the same email as you did on the legacy website.
When signing up or renewing, I highly recommend using the webapp on your browser, rather than through the native apps, for these reasons:
- You can enter promo codes (at the bottom where it says “or use a promo code”).
- You avoid giving Google or Apple 15% of your subscription.
- We are better able to issue refunds if necessary.
- Google Pay on Android is not working well.
If you want a discounted rate, the legacy website offers multi-month subscriptions (these will sync over to the new app platform).
In other words, avoid ever using the native phone app to sign up or renew. You can use it to access your account once a subscription is established via https://dtheartandsoul.com or https://app.dtheartandsoul.com.
Technical Tips
If you do use both the legacy and new systems, be sure to use the same email on both systems. This is because two-way subscription and verification sync is working (as of January 2023). So now, if you use the same email across both systems, your subscription on either system will be recognized on both.
Workarounds
If you see a blank screen on the webapp, https://app.dtheartandsoul.com: Try visiting the profile page, by entering this URL directly in your browser: https://app.dtheartandsoul.com/profile. Someday we’ll nail this bug, but for now this seems to work for people who experience this issue.
Why not just have one platform?
Eventually we might do that; for now however, the legacy platform works OK and it’s more supportable. We have not figured out how to keep the native apps working reliably; Google and Apple app technologies are very fast-moving, and it’s an open question whether we’ll be able to marshall enough ongoing dev expertise and resources to keep up. The webapp might end up becoming the platform of choice; please pray that God makes the way clear!
In Summary
If you encounter issues that you’re not able to work around, use the Contact form to get in touch.
May God grant that this is overall more helpful than confusing, and may He bless your life’s adventures in singlehood!
P.S. If you are an app developer and want to use your talents to bless DT Heart & Soul, or you know someone who might fit that description, check out this job posting for a volunteer DTHS developer!