At a time when dating app fatigue is real, Feeld figures are soaring…<\/p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”credit-name” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”Black Han Sans|||on|||||” text_text_color=”#000000″ header_4_font=”|||on|||||” header_4_text_align=”center” text_orientation=”center” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]
Words by Alice Hall<\/strong><\/p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/07\/GettyImages-545800798-scaled.jpg” alt=”kink” title_text=”BDSM concept: crop, handcuffs and eyemask on red satin” force_fullwidth=”on” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”] In a dating scene dominated by apps, there\u2019s a digital option for just about every taste and type. Dog lover? There\u2019s an app for that. Vegetarian? There\u2019s an app for that too. You get the gist.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s profits increased from \u00a32.4m in 2022 to \u00a35.5m in 2023.<\/p>\n \u2018We\u2019re on a mission to elevate the human experience of sexuality and relationships,\u2019 says the app\u2019s website. \u2018Feeld 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.\u2019<\/p>\n 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 \u2018vanilla tourists\u2019 are flocking to the app, which could impact the app\u2019s longer-term users. <\/p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”custom-quote” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” header_2_font=”Libre Bodoni|||on|||||” header_2_text_align=”center” header_2_text_color=”#333333″ header_2_font_size=”40px” header_2_line_height=”1.2em” global_colors_info=”{}”] However, Kirova also believes we should stop being so \u2018binary\u2019 about the term vanilla. \u2018Every time someone tells me about these vanilla people being on the app, I just ask: \u201cWhat\u2019s the problem with vanilla?\u201d Why are we so binary about it?\u2019 Kirova added to The Guardian. \u2018There is vanilla, which is boring and whatever, and then there is the rest, which is dark and interesting. We don\u2019t yuck anyone\u2019s yum \u2026 and that does count for more traditional relationships and popular sexual experiences, too. I think there is space for that.\u2019<\/p>\n 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 \u2018emotionally, mentally, or physically exhausted\u2019 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.<\/p>\n Vanessa*, 28, downloaded Feeld this year because she\u2019d heard it had more \u2018easy going\u2019 people than other apps. \u2018The responses have been really mixed. I\u2019ve had some people unmatch me because I haven\u2019t been available in the next hour to meet up\u2019 she says. \u2018However, it\u2019s already so much better than other apps I\u2019ve tried. There isn\u2019t a bad algorithm like Hinge, and it\u2019s refreshing that it\u2019s not attached to what they think your type is. It feels more real.\u2019<\/p>\n 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: \u2018That constrains the experience for the members. As soon as you join the app, you\u2019re 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\u2019re there to find X.\u2019<\/p>\n Vanessa explains she\u2019s looking to experiment with people she meets on the app. \u2018If I met the right person who I had really good chemistry with, there would be nothing stopping me getting super kinky with them,\u2019 she says. \u2018People are clear about what they want and consent is key. That\u2019s important to me.\u2019<\/p>\n So who is using Feeld? In 2024, Feeld\u2019s product manager Lavina Lim told Grazia the most engaged demographics on the app were 26\u201335-year-olds and their top cities are London, New York City, Los Angeles, Melbourne, Berlin, and Sydney. \u2018Out of all Feeld Members, 35% are in a couple and half identify as something other than heterosexual,\u2019 she said. \u2018There is minimal background interference from the platform on who is displayed to Feeld Members [\u2026] We operate under the idea that the less we interfere with the algorithm, the more organic the connections our members make are.\u2019<\/p>\n At the end of the day, Feeld is one of the most inclusive apps on the market \u2013 and one of the few that appears to be riding the wave of dating app fatigue. Hu that success speaks for itself.<\/p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider color=”#111111″ divider_position=”center” divider_weight=”2px” module_class=”custom-divider” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”0px||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_text module_class=”credit-texts” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”|||on|||||” text_orientation=”center” global_colors_info=”{}”] Photo: GETTY<\/b><\/p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" ‘I thought I’d found the ultimate secret to kinky sex’<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":11645,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11637","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feature","category-news"],"acf":[],"modified_by":"guestgrazia","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11637","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11637"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11637\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11657,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11637\/revisions\/11657"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11645"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11637"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11637"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11637"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\u2018I do think it\u2019s a challenge that it\u2019s becoming more mainstream in some ways,\u2019 she told the outlet. \u2018How do we welcome people who\u2019ve never heard of Feeld, who don\u2019t understand the list of sexualities and genders [or] who don\u2019t understand what ethical non-monogamy is (ENM) is?\u2019<\/p>\n‘More than 90 per cent of Gen Z feel frustrated with dating apps’<\/h2>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]