Hard-launch
Etymology
Borrowed from product marketing, where a hard launch is a full public release (versus a quiet soft launch). Social media dating discourse adopted the pair around 2021–2022 to describe the staged reveal of a romantic partner online.
noun · /HARD-lawnch/
The full, explicit public reveal of a relationship on social media — the opposite of a soft-launch.
What it names
It names the decisive moment of going public: a clear, face-and-name post that leaves no ambiguity about who you’re with. The term only makes sense against the soft-launch — the earlier, teasing hints — and marks the shift from suggestion to confirmation.
Example
After months of cropped photos, she finally hard-launched him on their anniversary.
Related idea
The counterpart to soft-launch: a soft-launch hints, a hard-launch confirms.