Ethical non-monogamy, switch, edging: you might expect these terms to be old hat for people on a non-traditional dating app – but increasingly they’re not. Feeld, which describes itself as being for “the curious”, is being colonised by so-called “vanilla tourists” – people who are using the app for more conventional dating.
The result is that Feeld has been booming in recent years, at a time when other dating apps’ numbers are falling. Since 2022, its user base has grown by 30% year on year, helped by those looking to observe and perhaps dip their toe into experimental lifestyles. The dating app’s chief executive, Ana Kirova, said reaching a wide audience has never been a goal, and that it raises questions of how to integrate new and longstanding members.
“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?”
