In short: Big, close Italian families make it easy to run into a cousin on a dating app. Mia’s FamBlock lets you add up to ten last names: people with those names won’t see you, and you won’t see them. It ignores accents and apostrophes, covers double surnames, and works in both directions.
Every Italian family has the story.
Someone opens a dating app, starts scrolling, and there they are.
A second cousin. A cousin’s ex. The son of zia’s best friend, who will absolutely mention it at Christmas.
It’s funny when it happens to someone else.
When it happens to you, it’s the fastest way to close an app forever.
Why Italians Match With Family More Than Most
Italian families are big, and they stay close. Cousins aren’t a distant idea; they’re the people at every Sunday lunch, every baptism, every summer in the old town.
Families also tend to cluster. For generations, Italians abroad settled near each other, in the same neighborhoods, parishes and towns. That closeness is a gift. It also means the person three blocks away might share a great-grandmother with you.
Add a dating app built for Italians, and the odds go up again. That’s the whole point of meeting people who share your culture. It’s also exactly why you need a way to keep family out of your feed.
It’s Not Only Cousins
For a lot of people, the bigger worry is privacy.
- Your ex’s family
- Your parents’ closest friends
- The cousins who run the family group chat
- Anyone whose nonna knows your nonna
You should be able to date without your love life becoming news before you’re ready to share it.
How FamBlock Works
We built FamBlock into Mia for exactly this.
Add up to ten last names to your FamBlock list. Anyone with one of those last names won’t be shown to you, and you won’t be shown to them. It works both ways, automatically.
A few details make it work the way Italian names actually work:
- Spelling quirks don’t matter. Capitals, accents and apostrophes are ignored, so D’Angelo and Dangelo count as the same family.
- Double surnames are covered. Block Rossi, and someone named Rossi-Bianchi is hidden too.
- Nobody is notified. FamBlock simply keeps you out of each other’s three daily profiles.
One tip: if your family uses more than one spelling, like Russo and Russi, add both. Ten slots is enough for most famiglie, even the big ones.
Other Ways to Avoid an Awkward Family Match
On any dating app, a few habits help:
- If an app lets you hide from people in your phone contacts, turn it on, but remember it only works for numbers you’ve saved.
- Skip photos taken at family events that relatives would instantly recognize.
- If you do see a cousin, don’t panic. Pass, and save the story for the next family dinner.
On Mia, FamBlock does the heavy lifting, so you can focus on the people you actually want to meet.
Closing Thought
Family is the reason so many of us want an Italian love story in the first place.
It just doesn’t need a front-row seat for the first date.
Mia launches in winter 2026–27. Join the waitlist and set up your FamBlock list on day one.
Good questions
What is FamBlock?
FamBlock is a Mia feature that keeps families apart. Add up to ten last names, and anyone with one of those last names won’t be shown to you, and you won’t be shown to them.
Does FamBlock work both ways?
Yes. If you add a last name, people with that name won’t see you and you won’t see them. If someone else adds your last name, the same applies.
Does FamBlock handle different spellings?
It ignores capitals, accents and apostrophes, so D’Angelo and Dangelo count as the same name, and it catches each part of a double surname. If your family uses genuinely different spellings, like Russo and Russi, add both.
How can I avoid seeing relatives on other dating apps?
Some apps let you hide from people in your phone contacts, which helps for relatives whose numbers you’ve saved. Skipping easily recognizable photos from family events also helps. Mia’s FamBlock is built to hide whole families by last name.
