Dating site Quarantine Together creating connections from a distance

March 30 (UPI) -- A new dating site launched amid the coronavirus pandemic aims to help people create connections while social distancing.

Quarantine Together, a new dating website and app developed by Daniel Ahmadizadeh and Christopher Smeder, asks users at 6 p.m. each day if they have washed their hands, and if they answer affirmatively, they are then connected to another user for text chat.

The users are offered the option of switching to video chat after talking for 15 minutes.

"People need to stay home and people will be lonely when they stay at home," Ahmadizadeh told CNN.

"We wanted to build something that is not just great for others, but for our selfish purposes so we don't get bored," Ahmadizadeh said. "I watch basketball when I get home but that's not on."

He said the service "is specific to how people are living in this time."

Ahmadizadeh said matched users initially know nothing about each other except for their names.

"There are no rejections," he said. "It's less about your photo or your bio, it's more about actually being able to talk to another person."