Feeld, a UK-based dating app aimed at non-monogamous, queer and kinky users, has reported strong sales growth and paid its founders their largest-ever dividend as it attracts users from more “vanilla” rivals.
Revenues jumped by 24% to £64m following a surge in interest from what it called “open-minded people exploring love, desire, and alternative relationships in a safe, inclusive space”.
Pre-tax profits grew from £9.3m to £11.4m, and the company’s shareholders – including the couple who founded it – shared in a dividend of £3.8m.
Ana Kirova and her partner, Dimo Trifonov, started the business under the name 3nder (pronounced Thrinder), initially targeting couples and singles looking for threesomes.
They were forced to change the company’s name to Feeld owing to a lawsuit from Tinder but it has since experienced rapid growth even as larger rivals have faltered.
Match Group, which owns Tinder and other dating apps such as Hinge and OK Cupid, reported a 5% decline in user numbers earlier this year, amid reports of fatigue with the experience of seeking romance or sex via an app.
But Feeld, which calls itself a dating app “for the curious”, appears to be scooping up some of those users. While this has prompted reports that its edgy image has been watered down by an influx of people with more conventional or monogamous sensibilities, Feeld’s president, Kyle Brennan, said it reflected changing tastes.
“These numbers speak to something bigger than the growth of our business,” said Brennan. “They reflect a broader shift in how people are thinking about connection, with greater openness, curiosity and agency to do things differently.”
Accounts filed at Companies House said rising sales reflected “strong global user growth”, particularly outside the UK, with the rest of the world now accounting for £56m of its total £64m in revenues, nearly 90%. Mexico and Spain were Feeld’s fastest-growing regions, while New York, Toronto and Paris led the way among cities, each recording an uplift in user numbers of more than 20%, the company said.
Feeld makes money via the sale of its Majestic memberships, which give users features such as unlimited opportunities to “like” other members, the ability to see who has liked them, and advanced filters to tailor specifications for a potential partner.
It also sells members extra “pings”, a feature that allows members to express interest in someone and send them a message, without having matched with them first.
In 2024, it emerged that some of these features were temporarily vulnerable to manipulation due to security “vulnerabilities” exposed by cybersecurity experts.
Research by the London-based cybersecurity firm Fortbridge found that users could have had sensitive data including messages, private photos and details of their sexuality accessed or even edited.
At the time, Feeld said it had investigated the problems brought to its attention by Fortbridge on 3 March and fixed them by 28 May that year. It said there was no evidence that any customer data had been accessed. It has invested £10.5m in technological upgrades in the past year.
The largest dividend reported in Feeld’s previous accounts was £600,000 in 2024.
As well as its dating platform, Feeld runs in-person social events including a “kinky trivia” night and a “pitch your mate” event, at which guests take to the stage to wax lyrical about why people should date their friends.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: theguardian.com
