The lesbian dating app formerly known as Dattch is back under a new name: HER.
Self-described as “the app built for lesbians, by lesbians,” HER has undergone major changes since its February 2014 debut. Initially launched as a “geosocial networking app” mostly intended for dating, since then HER has also become a hub for original content.
The app’s website states that HER “gives you the news you care about: daily lesbian articles written by journalists and users like you. Whether you want a piece on LBGT rights or cat gifs reacting to Piper & Alex.”
In other words, HER is not just “Grindr for lesbians.”
One difference is the types of socializing that HER supports. A press release shared with 429Magazine notes that while it “remains focused on helping lesbian & queer women connect…the new app makes a big shift away from dating with a greater focus on a more social experience.” The geosocial aspect of HER allows users to “meet each other through queer events taking place in their area,” in addition to “sharing content from the lezzy web.”
One feature that hasn’t much changed is profiles, which are “still centered around interests with Pinterest-style layouts. If users match, they get introduced with what they have in common.”
The app also uses gender verification “to keep out the straight men looking for threesomes.” Users sign up with HER via Facebook, and the app confirms what gender is listed. The founder and CEO, Robyn Exton, explained over email that HER currently accepts “up to 35 of the identified genders.” The app also checks “the likelihood that it is a real account [based on] things like how active your account is, the types of interactions.”
Originally located in the UK, the company also recently moved to the US following a $1 million seed round of investment, from leading investors such as Alexis Ohanian, founder and chair of Reddit; Michael Birch, founder of Bebo; and Andy McLoughlin, the founder of Huddle, AngelList, and 500 Startups.
Exton is also quoted in the press release announcing Dattch’s relaunch as HER, explaining that the newly expanded app “is about creating a space where lesbian, bi, queer, curious, flexisexual, pansexual and not-so-straight women can meet and find out what’s going on in their lesbian world.
“Dattch taught us a huge amount and you’ll see the best parts of it in HER, along with a whole new experience incorporating everything our community kept asking us for. More social, less dating. Women aren’t looking for a ‘Hot or Not’ – they want to chat & meet up, make friends, meet girlfriends, find events. HER is a complete lesbian community.”
- Morgan Welch, originally published in 429 Magazine. For more original LGBT content, go to dot429.com.
