Are We Witnessing The Return Of The Soft Launch?

@amayaaharvey soft launch inspo for instagram🤳🏾🤸🏾‍♀️ #instagrampost #softlaunch #instagramtips #greenscreen ♬ original sound – amaya

By now, we’ve all seen it: the cryptic Instagram Story featuring someone’s arm across a dinner table, their face strategically cropped out. Or maybe it’s the blurry back-of-head shot in a mirror selfie, captioned with a suspiciously casual “Sunday” and a heart emoji. Congratulations, you’ve just witnessed a soft launch.

Soft launching a relationship (i.e, teasing a new relationship or even situationship online without revealing their identity) was huge during peak pandemic-era internet sleuthing. And now? It’s having a very 2025 renaissance, fuelled by TikTok’s obsession with curated mystery and Gen Z’s love for irony, aesthetics, and keeping things low-key.

@lifeftliv I love seeing all the launches on vday💌 #vday #softlaunch #hardlaunch #couplephotos #photoinspo #photoideas #coupletok ♬ Can I Call You Rose? – Thee Sacred Souls

The soft launch is kinda genius. You get to show you’re no longer single, without inviting the full chaos of hard-launching someone who might end up being your ex next month. It’s the digital equivalent of dipping a toe into the relationship pool without diving in headfirst. If things go sideways? Delete the Story. Nothing to see here.

And it’s not just randoms doing it, celebs are soft launching too. Influencers are swapping the classic couple grid post for posting a car selfie where the passenger seat is just… occupied. Even Kylie Jenner famously soft-launched Timothée Chalamet via paparazzi candids before going Insta-official months later.

@jhorinarae1 Hopping into the trend. #fyp #fypシ #softlaunch #relationship ♬ If I Aint Got You Rap – Verum

But why are we all back on the soft launch train? In a word, control. With the internet watching everything, this trend gives people a way to own the narrative. It creates buzz without the pressure, letting followers (and maybe an ex or two) know you’re thriving, mysteriously.

There’s also a fun gamification to it. Friends become detectives, dissecting shadows, fingers, and plate orders for clues. It’s flirty. It’s strategic. It’s giving “if you know, you know,” and Gen Z loves a good IYKYK moment.

Soft launching isn’t just a trend, it’s an art form (no really, it takes skill to be sneaky with detective friends). So, whether you’re elbow-posting your way into a situationship or just love the aesthetic of a blurry boy pic, know this: the soft launch is back, and it’s never looked so good.

Would you ever soft-launch your situationship, or are you team hard launch forever?

Words by Emilia Cercel