The Pattern Astrology App: Everything You Need to Know

The origins of the app are opaque, and using it may come at the risk of exposing your data. But The Pattern is quickly becoming a ... Skiptocontent ThePattern EverythingyouneedtoknowaboutmysteriousastrologyappThePattern Peoplearefreakingoutoveritsaccuracy.  SarahJasmineMontgomery IRL PublishedOct25,2018   UpdatedApr20,2020,11:49amCDT Seeminglyovernight,amysteriousnewastrologyapp calledThePatternsurfacedonsocialmedia.ItgrabbedtheattentionofastrologyjunkiesreadytodissectthemselvesusingamobileappmoreuserfriendlythanTimePassagesandlessaestheticallypleasingthanCo-Star.Theoriginsoftheappareopaque,andusingitmaycomeattheriskofexposingyourdata—itapparentlydoesn’trespondtodonottrackrequests,asaDailyDotreaderletusknowviaemail. Butwithitssocialcomponentandeerilyinsightfulpassages,ThePatternisquicklybecomingtheneed-to-knowtoolforthosemoonlightingasastrologers. https://twitter.com/carnelianchaos/status/1051949320885415936 toallmyastrologybitches:downloadtheappthepattern!!!thatshitisspookyaccurateandinteresting—lucky(@grouponm0m)October13,2018 ThePatternapplikelygainedpopularityoverthepastfewweeksthankstotweetsfromafewinfluentialTwitteraccounts,butaccordingtotheAppStore,ThePatternhasexistedsinceatleastMay2017.TheearliestknownInstagrampost abouttheappwaspostedinFebruary. YouguysreallyneedtodownloadthisappcalledThePattern.ItwillreadyouforFILTH.Butitwillletyouknowwhatpatternskeepyourfromyourbestselfandwhatyourbestselfmaypotentiallyfeellike.—Thandiwe(@heythandi)October14,2018 HowtouseThePatternapp SigningupforThePatternissimple.AfterafreedownloadfromtheAppStore,usersarepromptedtotypeintheirastrologybirthchartinformation:name;gender;anddate,time,andplaceofbirth.Severalusershavecomplainedaboutabugwhenenteringabirthlocation,butifyoucangetpastthatpoint,you’rein.(Hint:SomesayturningWi-Fioffandonhelps.) thepatternwon’tletmeputitinmylocationican’tevengetpastthesignuppic.twitter.com/WhVtQFwDcK—$TheNyaMartin(@TheNyaMartin)October15,2018 Onceyou’reinapp,it’sapparentthatthedesignhasaslittleappealasFacebook’s,butit’sallprettystraightforward.Unlikeotherastrologyapps,ThePatternavoidslingoaboutsunsignsoraspectsandinsteadoptsforuser-friendlypersonalitypassagesthatreadlikeaMyers-Briggsresult.Thesepassagesarebrokenupintothreesections—Foundation,Development,andRelationships—whicharethenbrokenupintosubsectionsforatotalofsixaspectsofyourpersonality,eachwithabout15to20slidesoftext. ScreenshotviaSarahJasmineMontgomery ScreenshotviaSarahJasmineMontgomery ScreenshotviaSarahJasmineMontgomery Anothersectiontitled“YourTiming”breaksdowncyclesinyourlifebasedoncurrentastronomicalpositionsinthesolarsystem.Thisistheonlysectionoftheappthatexplicitlyreferencesastrology,notingactiveretrogradesorotherphenomenon.Eachcycleentryincludesaseriesofslidesdesignedtoexplainallthewaysyourlifemaybeimpactedbyacycleandmayposequestionstomeditateon.Thesecyclesarecoupledwithspecificsdates,andtheappalsoshowscyclescominginthenearfuture.Insteadofdailyorweeklyupdates,ThePatternoffersonlylong-termcycles,soit’snottheplacetogoforday-to-dayguidance. ScreenshotviaSarahJasmineMontgomery ScreenshotviaSarahJasmineMontgomery ScreenshotviaSarahJasmineMontgomery HowtoaddfriendsonThePatternapp Apartfromyourprofile,theappincludesasocialaspect.Addingfriendsorsignificantothersallowsyoutoevaluateyourcompatibilitybasedoncompositeaspectsofyourpersonalityratherthanonaspecificsign-by-signbasis.Thisisincrediblyhelpfulforpeoplestillfuzzyonwhichsignsarecompatibleorifyou’redatingsomeonewhodoesn’treally“believe”inastrology(hint:youshouldprobablydumpthem).Youarealsoabletocreateprofiles,called“customcontacts,”forotherpeoplewhoarenotpublictoseehowtheirpersonalitymatchesupwithyours. Theapponlyletsusersevaluateromanticrelationships,butitworksjustaswellforfriendshipsifyoure-contextualizethepassagesinaplatonicway.ThePatternprovidesasummarizedoverviewoftherelationshipandwhatitcallsa“fullpattern.”Warning,ifyou’relookingforasaccharine,subtleapptotellyouwhythingsmightnotworkoutwithsomeone,thisappisnotit.BepreparedforThePatterntoswiftlypointouttheflawsinallyourrelationships,eventhegoodones. ScreenshotviaSarahJasmineMontgomery ScreenshotviaSarahJasmineMontgomery ScreenshotviaSarahJasmineMontgomery OneTwitterusersaidtheyweresostressedoutbytheapp,theydeleteditalltogether. thisappfuckedmeupIhadtodeleteit—outgettingrims(@hassanrahim)October11,2018 WhomadeThePatternapp? Ifyou’rewonderingwhorunsthisdebilitatingpocketsoothsayer,jointheclub. ThePattern’sprivacypolicywaslastupdatedMay24,2017,twodaysbeforeitsdebutintheAppStore.Peritstermsofservice,theappwasprecededbyawebsite, thepattern.com,andtheonlyformofcontactprovidedbytheappisattachedtothatsamesite.It’sunclearwhorunstheapporwhenThePatternreallystarted,andattemptsbytheDailyDottocontactitscreatorswentunanswered. co-starisafunintroductiontoastrologybutitscontentrepeatsitselfalotsinceit’sAI-powered,ifyoureallywanttohurtyourownfeelingsgetthisapphttps://t.co/EWjN4QSPzB—tiffany(@radioheadass)October11,2018 DoesThePatternappcollectuserdata? It’shardtoverifywhetherornotThePatternisrunbyartificialintelligence,givenhowincreasinglyapparentitisthatusersaregivenverysimilarpersonalitycharts.Forexample,thispersonandthispersonpostedtheexactsamepartoftheirpersonalitycharts,andsodidthispersonandthisperson.Thisisnottosaythepersonalityinsightsareinaccurate,butthey’renomorepersonalizedthanaMyers-Briggstypeornumerologyreadings. It’simportanttoknowthatthisappispassivelyandactivelycollectingdata.Likeotherwebsites,itusescookiesandsaysitdoessotoimprovetheapp’s“service,”whichisdescribedasthefollowing:“TheServiceisdesignedtocreateinformationalreadingsorprofilesabouttheyouorotherusers,howtwousersinteract,andwhatishappeningtoyouandotherusersbasedonastrologicalpositions.” Theappalsowithholdstherighttoshareanydataitcollectswiththirdparties,soifthat’ssomethingthatmakesyouuncomfortable,itmightbebesttooptout. ScreenshotviaSarahJasmineMontgomery ScreenshotviaSarahJasmineMontgomery ScreenshotviaSarahJasmineMontgomery astroadvicefromthepatternapp.itrlydiddragmepic.twitter.com/5P6p6GQADb—annamarcelo(@annasshole)October17,2018 WhyuseThePatternapp? Blamejobinsecurity,thepoliticalclimate,oragenerationaladdictiontoself-improvement,butthereareneverashortageofwaystoimprove,mitigate,orattheveryleastattempttounderstandourpersonalcircumstances.ThePatternpresentsthenewestvehicletothatend,anditdoessoharshly,likeaparentortherapisttellingyouit’stimetogetittogether.Throughafewvagueparagraphs,ThePatternprovidesamirrortoexamineourgrimmerreflections,andinturnhelpsaffirmthepartsofourlivesthatfeelimperfectorlacking.Byforcingourselvestotakestockofwhat’sthere,wecanmakespaceforimprovement,whilealsobeingreassuredthatourconditionisultimatelydictatedbythestars. yoeveryonegetthisfuckingappthisisnothingbutthetruth.It’scalledthepatternthisisonlylittlepartsofmylife/personalityitshowsalotmoreindifferentcategorieswithcomplexreadingaboutrelationships/work/family/destinyandsomuchmoreIloveitsomuch1/2pic.twitter.com/BAqRTejv5P—*(@chilombolani)October16,2018 astroadvicefromthepatternapp.itrlydiddragmepic.twitter.com/5P6p6GQADb—annamarcelo(@annasshole)October17,2018 InatimewhenbeinganastrologygururakesintheInstagramfollowersandtheTwitterfavs,ThePatternhasabsolutelynosocialmediapresence.Still,theapp’sdesignmakesiteasytoshareorpostartfulscreenshots.It’smissingfromanymajorastrologyappround-upofthelastyear,includingtheDailyDot’sown.ButthankstoafewpopularTwitteraccountsandourinsatiableappetitetoreadaboutourselves,ThePatternistakingoff—whetheritscreatorsintendedittoornot. READMORE: Whyastrologyismakingacomebackonline13bestastrologysitesforonlinebirthchartreadingsThe7besthoroscopeappstostartyourdayoffrightThisInstagramaccountisusingmemesandbingocardstogetpeopleintoastrology Sharethisarticle *FirstPublished:Oct25,2018,7:30amCDT SarahJasmineMontgomery SarahJasmineMontgomeryisaDailyDotcontributorwhosewritingandcriticismcoverallthingspopculture,withanemphasisonhowcommunitiesofcolorimpactphysicalanddigitalculturalspaces.HerwritingandphotographyhavealsoappearedinTexasMonthly,theFader,Complex,andBillboard. ‘Canwomenliveinpeace’:TikTokercatchesstrangertryingtobreakintoherhome ‘Icouldhavebeenfired’:FormerDisneyWorldcastmembersayscharacterscan’tspeaknon-Englishlanguages ‘Iwashungrytoo,andIcouldn’tgetoutofhere’:TikTokerbrings7-Elevenworkerhome-cookeddinnerduringhis16-hourshift ‘Thatissodangerouswtf’:TikTokergoesoffon‘gymcreep’whotriedtohelpherliftwithoutconsentinviralvideo