Category: All Gay

Grindr’s Performance Issues Could Doom Its Relationships

Posted on December 13, 2013

Grindr logo new dec 13FORTUNE – Dec 6 – One serious glitch is all users need to abandon one service for another. Just ask the Friendster folks. Grindr's consistent user complaints are creating opportunity for competitors like Jack'd or Scruff. Yosuke Matsuda made Jack'd fast and reliable. 5.4M users registered for the app, 1M log on daily. That's still shy of Grindr's 7M registered users and 1.2M daily active users. But Jack'd began outpacing Grindr this spring, adding 100K monthly active users. Grindr's monthly active user base is growing ~200K over at least seven months.

by JP Mangalindan
The full article was originally published at CNN Money, but is no longer available.

See all posts on Grindr
See all posts on Jack'd

Chinese Gay Dating App Blued Gets 2M Users In First Year

Posted on December 3, 2013

Blued screenshotsGAY STAR NEWS – Dec 2 – Gay dating app Blued claims 2M users since its launch in Aug '12 and plans to launch Pinkd, a dating app for Chinese lesbians. The startup firm behind the apps, DanLan, is yet to figure out how to make money but attracted a $3M investment this year. It is estimated that there are ~25M gay men in China but most choose to marry to keep their parents happy.

by Andrew Potts
See full article at Gay Star News

This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments.

Grindr App’s Worldwide Impact

Posted on November 27, 2013

Grindr logo new dec 13HUFFINGTON POST – Nov 26 – Joel Simkhai, the founder and CEO of Grindr, believes he has an “opportunity to make a difference.” In 2011 he launched Grindr4Equality, an effort to use the app to help create awareness and organize. Grindr is the only option for men in countries like Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan where gay men can go to jail for being who they are. That ability to connect gay men makes Grindr a powerful organizing tool. ~100K Grindr users signed a petition against Russia's “gay propaganda” law and users helped to raise $107K to stop anti-gay legislation in Singapore.

by Michelangelo Signorile
See full article at Huffington Post

See all posts on Grindr

STD App Hula Partners With Dating Apps

Posted on November 27, 2013

Mister app screenshotSCIENTIFIC AMERICAN – Nov 21 - Hula app stores sexually transmitted disease test results in one place and, if users like, can discretely notify sex partners of their health status. The app makes people more aware of the need to be tested for STDs and to share the outcome with sexual partners. Hula is also hoping that it can help to reduce the risk of sex with people who met through the location-based dating apps. Hula has partnered with a gay dating app Mister. Mister is encouraging users to find local testing centers, and making their test results available to online “friends" via Hula.

by Dina Fine Maron
The full article was originally published at Scientific American, but is no longer available.

See all posts on Hula
See all posts on Mister

Online Buddies Acquires Gay Dating App Jack’d

Posted on November 14, 2013

Onlinebuddies logo new Nov 13PR NEWSWIRE – Nov 13 – Online Buddies, the company behind Manhunt.net, acquired Jack'd, a location based gay dating app. Jack'd, Manhunt, and the Manhunt Daily blog receive a combined 2M unique visits daily, making Online Buddies the largest gay dating company. Jack'd launched in 2010 and since then 5M men have installed the app.

See full article at PR Newswire

See all posts on Manhunt

This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments.

Chinese Gay Apps Surging

Posted on October 28, 2013

Gay dating apps chinaSBS.COM.AU – Oct 28 – Grindr-like app are surging in popularity among gays living outside Beijing and Shanghai. Founder of Blued, an app that allows gay men to search for potential partners nearby using their phone, says third and second tier cities make up 80% of the users. Seeing the market grow, Sense Lou, founder of gay dating site Xuanta, decided to launch a new location-based LGBT dating app before the end of this year. A study found that one in ten gay men live in fear of being outed by their partners – a threat particularly potent in China where Confucian traditions and the importance placed on having children keep many in the closet.

by Primrose Riordan
See full article at SBS.com.au

Grindr Considers Legal Action Over Turkish Ban

Posted on September 25, 2013

Grindr logoSTAR OBSERVER – Sep 25 – Grindr has considered threatening the Turkish government with legal action over their ban. The app was blocked by Istanbul’s Criminal Court of Peace this month. Grindr is now working via its geo-targeted advocacy service “Grindr for Equality” with KAOS GL and online LGBTI advocacy group All Out to pressure the Turkish government into lifting the ban.

by Benjamin Riley
See full article at Star Observer

See all posts on Grindr

Dattch: Pinterest-Inspired App For Gay Women

Posted on September 24, 2013

Dattch logoTECH CRUNCH – Sep 21 – Dattch is a dating app exclusively for lesbians, bisexual and/or bi-curious women, designed by a female team. The app has just closed a £100,000/$160,000 angel/small seed round. "The gay female dating scene is badly served," says founder and CEO Robyn Exton. “Nobody was thinking about a female user, and actually how do women behave? What kind of triggers are they looking for?" So what are gay women looking for? Firstly, lots and lots of photos. Photos of where you live, what you wear, things you like, places you want to go. Dattch is taking its design inspiration from Pinterest. The app’s other focus is a text-based messaging feature.

by Natasha Lomas
See full article at Tech Crunch

This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments.

Grindr Hooks Up With Gay Activists To Unblock The App In Turkey

Posted on September 19, 2013

Grindr_banned_in_Turkey_3GAYSTAR NEWS – Sep 18 – Grindr is working with leading Turkish LGBT association, KAOS GL and digital LGBT activists at All Out to petition Turkey to lift the ban. There were 125K active monthly Grindr users in Turkey. Istanbul’s Criminal Court of Peace blocked Grindr as a ‘protection measure’ on Sep 11th.

by Tris Reid-Smith
See full article at GayStar News

See all posts on Grindr

Indians Hit Mobile Apps To Find Love

Posted on September 16, 2013

Mobile dating indiaTIMES OF INDIA – Sep 15 – Grindr has ~11K monthly users in India. "In conservative regions where being gay may be taboo, Grindr allows for connections that wouldn't happen face-to-face so it's not surprising that it is popular in India," says a Grindr spokesperson. SinglesAroundMe claims they have 66K Indian subscribers. "India is third after the US and UK and represents only 5% of our user base presently, but the number is growing very quickly," says CEO Christopher Klotz. Thrill is another app that is getting popular in India. Thrill's 'he applies she decides' approach enables women to choose the men they want in. Thrill won't be enabling their locator technology at the moment.

by Sonal Nerurkar
See full article at Times if India

See all posts on Grindr
See all posts on SinglesAroundMe