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H E R L I
NEXT CHAPTER
Product Specification & Developer Brief
Dating → Relationship → 180 days of continued discovery
“HERLI helped you find each other.
HERLI: Next Chapter helps you keep discovering each other.”
Version 1.0 · August 2026 · Confidential product concept
1Product Purpose
The second lifecycle stage of HERLI — a shared relationship space, not a dating app.
HERLI: Next Chapter is designed for two women who met through HERLI, mutually chose each other, and want to continue using HERLI as a shared relationship space rather than as a dating app.
The product does not try to keep successful users single. It changes its role when dating succeeds: HERLI Dating helps two women find each other; HERLI: Next Chapter helps them continue learning about each other during the first 180 days of the relationship.
Product principle
The app should never act as a therapist, judge, or relationship oracle. It should act as a compass: observe, explain, point to useful conversations, and help the couple see change over time.
Primary outcomes
- Create a natural post-match lifecycle after two users become a couple.
- Give the couple recurring reasons to return, based on curiosity about each other, not artificial FOMO.
- Turn pre-relationship compatibility into longitudinal relationship insight.
- Help both partners understand emotions, needs, communication patterns, and differences more clearly.
- Create a shared 180-day journey that can later become a premium relationship product.
What makes the concept distinctive
The key innovation is not a single quiz or AI feature. It is continuity. HERLI can know why two users were matched before the relationship and, with explicit consent, compare that original compatibility with how both partners experience the real relationship over time.
Living Relationship Compass
Pre-relationship compatibility → real-life relationship → change over time. The Compass begins before the couple forms and evolves with them.
2Lifecycle: From Dating to Next Chapter
The transition is mutual and explicit — one user cannot convert the other unilaterally.
- User A selects: “I found someone on HERLI”.
- User A selects the HERLI user she wants to invite into Next Chapter.
- User B receives an invitation explaining what changes if she accepts.
- User B accepts or declines independently.
- Only after both accept does HERLI: Next Chapter activate.
- Dating functions are disabled for both users: Discover, new swipes, Blind Date, and visibility for new matches.
- Each partner keeps her own account and private settings, while a shared couple space is created.
| State | What the user can do | Visibility / rules |
|---|
| Dating | Discover, Blind Date, match, chat, Compass | Visible to eligible users |
| Invite pending | Continue dating until mutual confirmation, or optionally soft-lock the invite flow | No relationship state yet |
| Next Chapter active | Shared questions, Compass, check-ins, couple activities | Dating visibility off |
| Next Chapter ended | Choose Pause, Not now, or Return to Dating | Never reactivate dating automatically |
Suggested transition copy
“You chose each other. Your dating journey on HERLI is complete. Your Next Chapter can begin now.”The visual transition should feel celebratory and calm, not like a lock or restriction. The message is: the product is changing with the users.
3Premium Model
A premium couple feature — one payer, both benefit.
Premium hypothesis
69.99 PLN for the couple. One partner pays; both partners receive access to the shared Next Chapter experience.
The final billing period should remain configurable until willingness-to-pay testing is complete. The implementation should therefore avoid hard-coding business logic that assumes only one billing cadence.
- Purchaser and beneficiary are separate concepts: one user can pay while both receive entitlement.
- Both users should see clearly who currently owns the subscription, without exposing unnecessary payment details.
- If the subscription expires, shared history is not deleted automatically. Premium actions can lock while data remains safely retained under the product retention policy.
4The 180-Day Journey
A product journey, not a scientific claim — a clear, finite, emotionally understandable period.
| Days | Working chapter name | Product focus |
|---|
| 1–30 | Discovering Us | Learning how the relationship feels in real life |
| 31–60 | Understanding Us | Needs, emotions, communication and boundaries |
| 61–90 | Building Trust | Safety, openness, reliability and repair |
| 91–120 | Growing Together | Routines, shared time, space and intimacy |
| 121–150 | Knowing Each Other Deeper | Deeper conversations and mutual understanding |
| 151–180 | Our First Chapter | Reflection on change, discoveries and shared history |
These chapter labels are optional UX framing. They should not imply a clinical relationship progression. Users can skip prompts, pause notifications, and use the product at their own pace.
5Living Relationship Compass
The core of Next Chapter — a continuously updated interpretive layer from data the users voluntarily provide.
Possible inputs — only with appropriate consent
- Pre-relationship values and preferences.
- Attachment-style questionnaire results.
- Love-language preferences.
- Communication preferences.
- Conflict and repair preferences.
- Closeness vs. personal-space needs.
- Compatibility Compass responses.
- Blind Date / chat content — only if both users explicitly consent to analysis.
- Weekly check-ins.
- Daily questions and shared games both users choose to add.
- Monthly Mirror exercises and repeated questions over time.
Compass output
The Compass should not produce a single “relationship score”. It shows separate relationship areas, a percentage-style signal when appropriate, and a human-readable explanation of what that signal means.
| Area | Example signal | Example narrative |
|---|
| Trust | 91% · strengthening | Both of you consistently report feeling safe expressing needs. This has remained one of your strongest areas. |
| Communication | 84% · stable | You both value open communication, but one of you tends to want immediate discussion while the other often needs time first. |
| Closeness & space | 68% · needs attention | Your needs are not identical right now. This is not a problem; it may be a useful topic to make explicit. |
Language rule
Preferred: “The Compass noticed…” / “This may be worth talking about…”.
Avoid: “The Compass thinks…”, “You are incompatible”, “Your relationship is unhealthy”, or any deterministic diagnosis.
Change over time
The Compass becomes more valuable when it can compare the present with previous periods — showing direction, not only a static snapshot.
- Communication 84% — improving compared with the previous month.
- Quality time 68% — both answers have started to diverge.
- Trust 91% — stable strength.
Example
“You are experiencing quality time differently this month. Would you like one question to help you talk about what meaningful time together means to each of you?”
6Core Return Loop
Relational, not manipulative — curiosity about the other partner, never a notification counter.
- Partner A completes a question, check-in, or reflection.
- Partner B receives a neutral notification: “Her answer is waiting for you.”
- Partner B answers without seeing Partner A’s response.
- Both answers are revealed at the same time.
- The couple may discuss the answers inside or outside the app.
- If both consent, the interaction is added to the Living Relationship Compass.
- The Compass provides one short observation and, when helpful, one follow-up question.
- Over time, HERLI can show how the couple’s responses changed.
Desired motivation
The user returns because she wants to discover something about the woman she loves — not because the app is trying to make her check a notification counter.
7Question of the Day
The lightest recurring ritual — optional and easy to complete.
Mechanic
- Both partners receive the same question.
- Each answers privately.
- Neither answer is visible until both submit.
- When both complete, “Reveal answers” becomes available.
- After reveal, users can react, discuss, save, or optionally add the interaction to the Compass.
Question categories
- Closeness & affection
- Emotions
- Communication
- Trust
- Intimacy & sex
- Boundaries
- Conflict & repair
- Future plans
- Money
- Family & children
- Daily life
- Dreams
- Memories
- Playfulness & fun
Example
“What has your partner done recently that made you feel especially seen or loved?”
8Let’s Talk — Shared Question Game
Relationship conversations as a shared activity, not a therapy task — hundreds of prompts across many areas.
Default session · 5 Questions Tonight
A short shared session: Question → both answer → Reveal → optional discussion → next question. After the final question, the Compass may provide a short summary if both users consent.
| Mode | Mechanic | Purpose |
|---|
| Answer & Reveal | Both answer the same question privately, then reveal together. | Honest independent responses. |
| Guess Her | One partner predicts the other’s answer; the partner answers for herself. | Explore assumptions and understanding. |
| How Well Do You Know Me? | One answers about herself; the other answers what she thinks her partner would say. | Compare perception with self-report. |
| Would You Rather? | Both choose between two light options before reveal. | Fun, low-friction interaction. |
| Surprise Me | HERLI selects a topic from the allowed library. | Variety and discovery. |
Context-aware prompts
Some prompts can be random, but the strongest version uses the Compass to select a useful topic at the right moment. Example: if closeness and personal-space responses have diverged for several weeks, HERLI can offer a question about what healthy space means to each partner. Contextual recommendations must always be framed as optional conversation starters, never as corrective instructions.
9HERLI Mirror
A monthly exercise to explore mutual understanding — not compatibility scoring.
- Partner A answers what she believes Partner B is feeling or needing.
- Partner B answers the same question about herself.
- The answers are revealed together.
- HERLI describes where perceptions are similar and where they differ.
- HERLI may propose a question to clarify the difference.
Example output
“You read each other similarly on closeness this month, but you see Ola’s stress level differently. This may be worth asking about directly.”Do not show “You know her 74%”. The purpose is insight, not ranking.
10Weekly Check-In — How Are We?
A short relationship pulse, ideally under one minute. Both partners complete it independently.
Example areas
- Communication
- Trust
- Closeness
- Intimacy
- Quality time
- Personal space
- Feeling seen
- Emotional safety
The partner’s answers remain hidden until both complete the check-in. Afterward, HERLI shows a shared, descriptive view and can update the Compass.
Interpretation principle
The check-in asks:
“Are you both experiencing this relationship similarly right now?” It does not ask: “Is your relationship good enough?”
11Monthly Compass Summary
Once per month, HERLI synthesizes the recent period into a concise relationship reflection.
| Section | Example |
|---|
| Current strength | Trust |
| Largest positive movement | Communication |
| Area with the largest difference in perception | Quality time |
| Compass observation | One partner increasingly wants planned one-to-one time. |
| Suggested next conversation | “What makes time together feel truly meaningful to you?” |
The summary must always make clear that it is based on self-reported inputs and optional shared interactions, not objective measurement of the relationship.
12Our Story — Relationship Memory
The emotional memory layer — more valuable over time, without becoming a social feed.
Possible timeline entries
- First HERLI match.
- First conversation.
- First Blind Date.
- The moment both selected each other.
- Next Chapter activation.
- Saved question answers.
- Relationship milestones and anniversaries.
- Photos and notes added by the couple.
- Meaningful Compass reflections the users choose to save.
Memory resurfacing · “A year ago today…”
HERLI can resurface a saved question or answer and invite the couple to answer it again, then compare how the two responses changed. This creates a valuable, non-manipulative return reason: the couple revisits its own history, not platform engagement.
13Same Question, Months Later
Repeat selected questions after a meaningful period — and show both the original and current answers.
Example
Day 12: “What are you most afraid of in a new relationship?”Day 180: answer the same question again →
“See how your answers changed.”This is one of the clearest ways to make the Living Relationship Compass feel alive: users see personal and relational change, not just a static score.
14Private Reflections
A private space that is not automatically visible to her partner.
- How do I feel in this relationship lately?
- What do I need more of?
- What do I appreciate about my partner?
- Is there something I want to talk about?
- What has made me happy recently?
Rule
Private reflections stay private by default. The user may explicitly choose “Share with her” for an individual entry. Private content must never be silently surfaced to the partner through Compass copy.
15Consent, Privacy & AI Boundaries
Consent design is a core product requirement, not a legal afterthought.
Consent rules
- Both partners must consent before shared conversation content is analysed by the Compass.
- Each interaction can be excluded from Compass analysis.
- Users can withdraw consent for future analysis.
- Private reflections are never shared automatically.
- The app explains what categories of data are used for each insight.
- Users can delete or export shared data per the final privacy policy and legal requirements.
AI must not
- Diagnose a user or assign clinical labels.
- Declare a relationship healthy, unhealthy, toxic, compatible, or doomed as an objective fact.
- Decide who is right in a conflict.
- Tell a user to stay in or leave a relationship based solely on model inference.
- Use fear-based language to drive engagement.
Core line
Compass does not decide. Compass points.
16Ending Next Chapter
Safe, private and reversible — one partner can end participation without the other’s approval.
- User selects “End Next Chapter”.
- The shared active state is closed.
- Dating is not automatically reactivated.
- Each user independently chooses: Pause my profile, Not now, or Return to HERLI Dating.
- Shared-history retention and deletion follow the final privacy / data-retention design.
No break-up reason should be required. If optional feedback is collected, it should be separated from the relationship history and not shown to the former partner.
17Day 180 Summary
“Your First 180 Days” — a reflection, not a prediction of whether the relationship will last.
- Strongest recurring areas.
- Largest changes over time.
- Topics the couple discussed most often.
- Areas where mutual understanding increased.
- Selected memories and saved answers.
- Questions answered differently at the beginning and now.
Tone
The message is:
“Look how much you have discovered about each other.” Not: “Here is the verdict on your relationship.”
18Recommended Build Strategy
Treat the full concept as a roadmap. Next Chapter itself should launch as a small, testable product.
Mini-MVP for Next Chapter
| Priority | Module | Minimum scope |
|---|
| P0 | Mutual activation | Invite, accept / decline, relationship state, Dating OFF |
| P0 | Couple entitlement | One payer, two users receive premium access |
| P0 | Question of the Day | Same prompt, private answers, mutual reveal |
| P0 | 5 Questions Tonight | One shared session with basic categories |
| P0 | Mini Compass | Simple descriptive feedback from explicit inputs |
| P1 | Weekly check-in | Few relationship areas, both complete before reveal |
| P1 | Basic history | Save selected questions and milestones |
Later versions
- Full 180-day chapter structure.
- HERLI Mirror.
- Large prompt library and advanced categories.
- Monthly Compass summaries.
- Same Question Months Later.
- Our Story with photos and milestones.
- Private reflections and selective sharing.
- More advanced longitudinal Compass trends.
Development principle
Build the smallest version that can answer:
after forming a relationship, will couples voluntarily return to HERLI together and find the shared insight valuable?
19Suggested Product States & Backend Concepts
Exact architecture depends on the existing HERLI stack; these concepts should exist independently in the data model.
| Concept | Suggested purpose |
|---|
| couple_relationship | Links two user IDs; stores relationship state, created_at, ended_at. |
| next_chapter_invite | Sender, recipient, status, timestamps. |
| couple_entitlement | Premium access for the couple, independent of individual subscription ownership. |
| shared_prompt_session | Question / game session for the couple. |
| partner_response | Private response linked to session and user; reveal status controlled at session level. |
| compass_consent | Consent flags and versioning for the data categories used in analysis. |
| compass_snapshot | Time-stamped, explainable relationship-area output. |
| checkin | Weekly or monthly self-report input per user. |
| relationship_memory | User-approved item saved to Our Story. |
Important state rules
- A couple can only be active when both accounts are active and the mutual relationship state is confirmed.
- Reveal requires both responses unless an explicit timeout / skip rule is introduced later.
- Deleting one user must not leave orphaned shared data without a defined policy.
- Dating visibility must be driven by relationship state, not only front-end navigation hiding.
- Compass outputs should be versioned so the product can explain which inputs produced an insight.
20Analytics & Validation
The first objective is not to maximise usage — it is to learn whether couples choose Next Chapter and find recurring value.
| Metric | What it tells us |
|---|
| Dating → Next Chapter activation rate | How many qualifying pairs choose the second lifecycle. |
| Mutual invite acceptance | Whether both partners want the shared space. |
| Premium conversion | Whether the couple values the proposition enough to pay. |
| D7 / D30 active couples | Whether they return beyond novelty. |
| Questions completed together | Use of the core mutual-reveal ritual. |
| Weekly check-in completion | Willingness to create recurring data. |
| Compass view / follow-up rate | Whether insights lead to curiosity and conversation. |
| 180-day retention | Longer-term product value. |
| User-reported usefulness | Whether the product helps understanding and communication. |
Key validation questions
- Would users choose Next Chapter after forming a relationship?
- Which ritual creates the strongest voluntary return behavior?
- Do users understand the Compass as guidance rather than judgment?
- Does percentage + narrative feedback feel useful or anxiety-provoking?
- Which relationship areas feel most valuable to track?
- Is 69.99 PLN acceptable, and what billing cadence feels natural?
21UX & Tone Principles
- Premium, calm, intimate visual tone consistent with HERLI: deep green, gold accents, elegant typography.
- No aggressive red warning states for ordinary relationship differences.
- No leaderboards, relationship grades, stars, or gamified “success points”.
- Use percentages only when they represent a clearly explained area signal, never an objective relationship score.
- Narrative explanation is more important than the number.
- Users should always understand whether something is private, shared, or analysed.
- Skip, not now, pause, and disable-notification options should be easy to find.
- The app should encourage partners to look at each other and talk, not keep them staring at the screen.
22Example Product Copy
| Moment | Suggested copy |
|---|
| Activation | You chose each other. Your Next Chapter can begin. |
| Daily prompt waiting | Her answer is waiting for you. Answer first, then reveal together. |
| Compass strength | Trust continues to be one of your strongest shared areas. |
| Compass difference | You are experiencing personal space differently this month. That is not a problem — it may be worth making explicit. |
| Follow-up | Would you like one question to help you talk about it? |
| Memory | Six months ago, you answered this differently. Want to answer it again? |
| Day 180 | Look how much you have discovered about each other. |
23Final Product Definition
HERLI: Next Chapter is not simply a couples game and not an AI relationship coach. It is the continuation of the HERLI relationship lifecycle.
HERLI knows why two women were introduced. After they mutually choose each other, the same relationship logic can — with consent — become a Living Relationship Compass that helps them see how needs, communication, closeness, trust and mutual understanding evolve in real life.
One-sentence definition
HERLI: Next Chapter is a 180-day shared relationship journey that turns one-time compatibility into an ongoing conversation, memory and living relationship compass.
Brand promise
HERLI helped you find each other. Now HERLI helps you keep discovering each other.AAppendix — Developer Checklist
- Mutual relationship invitation and confirmation state.
- Server-side Dating OFF state for both users.
- Shared couple entity linked to two independent user accounts.
- Couple premium entitlement with one purchaser and two beneficiaries.
- Shared prompt sessions with private answers and mutual reveal.
- Consent model for Compass analysis.
- Time-stamped Compass snapshots with explainable source categories.
- Opt-in save-to-history mechanism.
- Safe Next Chapter ending flow without automatic return to dating.
- Analytics events for activation, completion, reveal, Compass use, and retention.
BAppendix — Product Scope Rule
Do not build everything at once
The complete document defines the product direction. The first Next Chapter implementation should remain intentionally small and test the core behavior before HERLI invests in the full 180-day experience.
Recommended sequence: validate HERLI Dating → validate mutual transition → validate shared questions & Mini Compass → add weekly rhythm → add longitudinal history → expand to the full Living Relationship Compass and 180-day journey.