In a dating scene dominated by apps, there’s a digital option for just about every taste and type. Dog lover? There’s an app for that. Vegetarian? There’s an app for that too. You get the gist.

But out of all the apps on the marker, Feeld was always the one designed with sex positive, kinkier folk in mind. The app was launched in 2014 by graphic designer and entrepreneur Dimo Trifonov and his partner, Ana Kirova, who is now the app’s CEO. The idea came about when the couple wanted to explore opening their relationship but found that there were no existing platforms that met their needs.

At a time when dating app fatigue is real, Feeld has found itself on the other end of the spectrum with numbers booming. Since 2022, its user base has grown by 30% year on year, fuelled by users looking to explore sexually experimental lifestyles. From April to June 2024, the app had an average of 1.5 million monthly active users, and the company’s profits increased from £2.4m in 2022 to £5.5m in 2023.

‘We’re on a mission to elevate the human experience of sexuality and relationships,’ says the app’s website. ‘Feeld is a dating app for the curious; those open to experiencing people and relationships in new ways. Polyamory, consensual non-monogamy, homo- and heteroflexibility, pansexuality, asexuality, aromanticism, voyeurism, and kink are just a few of the sexual identities and desires that make up the Feeld community.’

So why is the app growing so much? Of course, polyamorous lifestyles are becoming more socially acceptable, which can only be a good thing for people looking to experiment. Studies suggest that approximately 4-5% of people in romantic relationships identify as polyamorous. But in a recent interview with The Guardian, Kirova explained that more ‘vanilla tourists’ are flocking to the app, which could impact the app’s longer-term users.
‘I do think it’s a challenge that it’s becoming more mainstream in some ways,’ she told the outlet. ‘How do we welcome people who’ve never heard of Feeld, who don’t understand the list of sexualities and genders [or] who don’t understand what ethical non-monogamy is (ENM) is?’

However, Kirova also believes we should stop being so ‘binary’ about the term vanilla. ‘Every time someone tells me about these vanilla people being on the app, I just ask: “What’s the problem with vanilla?” Why are we so binary about it?’ Kirova added to The Guardian. ‘There is vanilla, which is boring and whatever, and then there is the rest, which is dark and interesting. We don’t yuck anyone’s yum … and that does count for more traditional relationships and popular sexual experiences, too. I think there is space for that.’

In general, figures show that people are growing much more tired of dating apps, thanks to behaviours such as ghosting. More than 90 per cent of Gen Z feel frustrated with dating apps, according to youth research agency Savanta. Meanwhile, some 78% of dating app users say they feel ‘emotionally, mentally, or physically exhausted’ by them, according to a 2024 study by Forbes Health, and a 2023 YouGov survey found that 46% of Brits say their dating app experiences have been bad.

Vanessa*, 28, downloaded Feeld this year because she’d heard it had more ‘easy going’ people than other apps. ‘The responses have been really mixed. I’ve had some people unmatch me because I haven’t been available in the next hour to meet up’ she says. ‘However, it’s already so much better than other apps I’ve tried. There isn’t a bad algorithm like Hinge, and it’s refreshing that it’s not attached to what they think your type is. It feels more real.’

This is an idea put forward by the founder of Feeld herself. Unlike endlessly swiping through Hinge, Feeld does not rely on predictive algorithms to find matches. She told The Guardian: ‘That constrains the experience for the members. As soon as you join the app, you’re put on to a conveyor of what your experience should be. And the platform makes a lot of choices for you in order for an algorithm to match you and people, because there is a default assumption for everyone that you’re there to find X.’

Vanessa explains she’s looking to experiment with people she meets on the app. ‘If I met the right person who I had really good chemistry with, there would be nothing stopping me getting super kinky with them,’ she says. ‘People are clear about what they want and consent is key. That’s important to me.’

So who is using Feeld? In 2024, Feeld’s product manager Lavina Lim told Grazia the most engaged demographics on the app were 26–35-year-olds and their top cities are London, New York City, Los Angeles, Melbourne, Berlin, and Sydney. ‘Out of all Feeld Members, 35% are in a couple and half identify as something other than heterosexual,’ she said. ‘There is minimal background interference from the platform on who is displayed to Feeld Members […] We operate under the idea that the less we interfere with the algorithm, the more organic the connections our members make are.’

At the end of the day, Feeld is one of the most inclusive apps on the market – and one of the few that appears to be riding the wave of dating app fatigue. Hu that success speaks for itself.