How Cortex Works

Create your account, confirm that you are 18 or older, verify your contact information, select your gender, and allow location access.

Your exact location is never shown to another user.

Every month, Cortex asks you to complete a 50-question assessment in 35 minutes: 28 Cognitive Core questions and 22 Cortex Mindprint scenarios. The Cognitive Core covers:

• Logical Reasoning
• Numerical Reasoning
• Verbal Reasoning
• Pattern Recognition
• Spatial Reasoning
• Working Memory

You get two separate scores, a Cognitive Score and a Mindprint Score. Both start at 20; the other 80 points come from your answers.

You may take up to 4 assessments a month (currently free) and choose which result shows.

The card displays your Cognitive Score, cognitive dimensions, and the month and year of your current assessment.

Cortex only considers potential matches who:

• are of the opposite gender;
• have an active current-month Cognitive Profile;
• do not already have an active Cortex connection;
• are online right now;
• are within the search distance you choose (km or miles).

Cognitive compatibility is the primary matching criterion.

Distance is considered only after eligibility has been confirmed.

During discovery, you see only the information needed to evaluate intellectual compatibility:

• First name
• Age
• Cognitive Score
• Cognitive Profile
• Cognitive Compatibility
• Approximate navigation distance
• Assessment month and year

You do not initially see photographs, hobbies, occupation, biographies or social-media-style profile information.

If you select Interested and the other person independently does the same, Cortex creates a mutual connection.

From that moment, both users are placed into an exclusive Cortex connection.

Neither person can begin another match until the current connection is resolved.

Either person may request access to the other's private gallery.

If the request is accepted, both galleries unlock at the same time.

Gallery access is always reciprocal.

You cannot view another person's private photos while keeping your own gallery hidden.

After viewing each other's galleries, both users independently decide whether they want to continue to conversation.

Chat opens only when both people choose to proceed.

If either person declines:

• chat remains closed;
• gallery access ends immediately;
• both users then choose whether to WAIT or UNMATCH.

Cortex intentionally keeps profiles minimal.

Information such as interests, hobbies, occupation, ambitions, lifestyle and personality are not displayed beforehand.

You discover these naturally through conversation.

Phone numbers and email addresses cannot simply be typed into Cortex chat.

Once you have each sent at least 50 messages, either user may request a controlled contact exchange.

You may request:

• Phone Number Exchange
• Email Exchange
• Phone and Email Exchange

The information is revealed only after mutual approval.

Either user may unmatch at any time.

If both users choose WAIT, the connection enters a seven-day hold period.

During this time:

• gallery access remains locked;
• chat remains closed;
• neither person can start another Cortex match;
• either person may request reconsideration.

Cortex displays the remaining time clearly, for example:

Connection on Hold — 5 days remaining

If the connection does not progress before the seven-day period expires, Cortex automatically unmatches both users.