Are you single and ready to find your forever love on dating apps? But are you also tired of endless swiping with no results? Welcome to 2026’s new dating trend: the “Sunset Clause” – that can save or kill your love life. According to reports, the Sunset Clause is where daters set expiration dates on matches and apps to protect their hearts (and time). According to QuackQuack’s survey (as reported by MidDay) of 7,583 singles aged 22-35 across Indian cities, 37% of people are now adopting time-bound dating. And so, “Sunset clause dating” is what a major of people are now trying, but does it fast-track love or doom relationships? Read on to know more about it:What is the Sunset Clause?Imagine this: You match with someone cute on a dating app. But, instead of talking for hours and letting the connection slowly lose its charm over the next few months, you agree to give it six months. If no real progress happens, you part ways gracefully. That’s the sunset clause – a relationship with a built-in expiry date unless both partners decide to commit to each other and take the relationship forward. Inspired by business contracts, daters too are now setting timelines (6 months, 1 year, or “until the right one” is found) to avoid dating aimlessly for years. Commenting on this dating trend, QuackQuack CEO Ravi Mittal says users want “outcome-based dating” over endless chats. Whether smart or heartless, the Sunset Clause makes people find clarity in their relationship.Why 2026 is the Sunset Clause EraPost-2024 dating fatigue birthed this trend. Singles burned by ghosting, lukewarm texts, and 3-year “talking stages” declared war on wasted time. 37% of metro/suburban daters (Tier 1-3 cities) now time-box romance. No more background-app scrolling – dating became priority or delete. Talking about this, Mittal said, as reported by MidDay, “Young daters evolved from casual flings to calculated compatibility.“People are now focusing more on career alignment over having shared hobbies, and similar lifestyles over having chemistry alone. The COVID-19 pandemic taught people that their time’s precious – And Sunset Clauses protect emotional bandwidth, ensuring apps serve a purpose, not procrastination.However, Sunset Clauses can also make relationships feel transactional for some. After all, you can’t time or force love. And, what’s meant to be, will be.What are your views on this new dating trend? Tell us in the comment section below.
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