ONE time, I was mindlessly tapping through IG Stories when something caught my eye. A guy I vaguely know, someone I’ve always known to be proudly single, posted a cozy dinner date. But here’s the thing: it wasn’t a full reveal. Just the girl’s arms, a peek of her hair, and two plates of pasta. No names. No tags.
A few Stories later, I saw another post. This time from a girl I went to school with back in the province. She posted a bouquet of flowers, carefully angled with a slightly blurred figure of a guy in the background. It was obvious she was with someone, but again, no face, no tags. Just a soft hint.
What do we call this modern dating ritual? That’s right – the soft launch.
The Aesthetic of Ambiguity
Soft launching isn’t new, but Gen Z has definitely turned it into an art form. It’s the careful curation of love life content: romantic, but cryptic. Just enough for people to notice, but not enough for them to know the full story.
One friend shared with me how it played out in her own situationship. “I remember during our first year as a ‘situationship,’ some of my friends started asking who the person I was talking about was because I never tagged him in any shared posts or mentioned him,” she said. “I kept everything between me and him private.”
And there it is – the point. Soft launching isn’t always about hiding; sometimes, it’s about protecting something before it’s ready to face the crowd. It’s choosing to keep things quiet, not because you’re ashamed, but because the world can get noisy.
Soft Launching a Situationship
But it hits differently when you’re not even sure where you stand. That blurry, undefined space? That’s where soft launches thrive.
“I don’t know if it’s a privacy thing,” said RA, 22. “Pero it’s more of hindi ka pa sure. Nakaanchor siya sa mindset din ng Gen Z sa situationship. Kasi nga hindi pa rin alam kung anong patutunguhan nung relationship. Ang advantage ng soft launch is one, pinapakita mo yun sa partner mo na merong kayo, pero at the same time para rin siyang safety net, na hindi siya kilala ng ibang tao. So kapag nawala siya, hindi alam ng circle mo.”
In a way, it’s the perfect halfway point. You’re showing just enough to acknowledge your connection, but not enough that people can ask too many questions if it all quietly ends.
Chris, 25, shared a similar take: “I agree on that, na it’s not all about being private. While most of people I know says it’s a privacy thingy. Siguro nga kasama na ‘yun don, pero mas nakatali talaga siya sa situationship culture lalo na sa ating Gen Zs.”
So maybe the soft launch isn’t just about privacy at all, it’s about uncertainty. It’s the unspoken “we’ll see.”
Not a Secret
In a time when everything is expected to be shared, there’s something oddly comforting about keeping parts of your life offline. Not because you’re ashamed, but because it feels safer that way.
“Actually, I’m a very private person, so I’m really not the type to share things about my personal life,” my friend added. “At that time, I wasn’t even sure if it was something serious or just a fling, because I had gotten used to guys not staying. I also didn’t want anyone interfering between us, because it gets messy.”
Oof. Real.
This is why soft launching makes sense for our generation. Oversharing can invite opinions, expectations, and commentary. Things that can easily weigh down something still fragile. So instead, people opt for soft hints: a hand in a frame, a shared drink, a matching pair of sneakers. Nothing too obvious, but still intentional.
Why We’re Soft Launching Now More Than Ever
There’s also a cultural shift at play. The younger generations are growing up in a hyper-online world, but we’re also burnt out by it. We’re reclaiming privacy, even in the subtlest ways.
“Maybe because they’re not yet sure about that person, whether the relationship will last or if it’s just temporary,” my friend mused. “And maybe they just want to enjoy the relationship between the two of them first, without outside pressure.”
It tracks. Gen Z grew up watching Millennial couples do full-on hard launches, then break up in front of everyone. We’ve learned to tread lightly, keep things quiet until we’re sure, and maybe, just maybe, avoid the jinx.
Even celebrities and influencers have caught on. From blurry reflections to anonymous arm shots in restaurants, the soft launch has gone mainstream. It’s no longer just a personal move; it’s a social language. A coded message that says, yes, I’m seeing someone, but no, you don’t get to know everything yet.
The Language of the In-Between
At its core, soft launching is about navigating the in-between. That blurry space where you care deeply for someone, but aren’t ready to define it publicly. It’s a quiet acknowledgement. A whisper that says, “I’m here, and so is someone else.”
Especially in situationships, where commitment is unclear but feelings are real, soft launching becomes a way of holding space. It’s not a secret, and it’s not a lie. It’s something real that doesn’t need to be proven.
Because love today doesn’t always come with hard lines or full reveals. Sometimes it’s a soft presence. A blurred figure in a photo. A moment kept between two people.
And sometimes that’s enough.
