THE Philippines is the third most-active country on a new gay-dating application, according to its developers.
And many of them are millennials.
In a statement, Hanky Ltd. said the two other countries are currently the United Kingdom and the United States. Eighty-one percent of users are between the age of 18 and 34.
Cofounder Jonas Cronfeld didn’t elaborate on the users of his eponymous app, but said he codeveloped Hanky to protect users from catfishing (use of fake profiles), creeps, time wasters and trolls.
In Internet slang, a troll is a user who starts conflicts online. Trolls do this by arguing or commenting to upset other users or divide users intro a pro and a con position. Some trolls also provoke other users into debate even on nonsensical issues. Worse, other trolls attack users.
“Legitimate users of traditional apps are being subjected to internet ridicule by trolls [often using fake identities], who send abusive messages or who post screenshots of private conversations on Twitter,” the company said in a statement.
Hanky wants to eliminate the trolls: in order to join Hanky, you need an invite code from a friend and validate your phone number, or sign up with your Facebook account. If you do not have an invite code, at least three current members will have to vote you in.
“For a long time we’ve been fed up with the vibe of the other gay apps. Increasingly the experience is ruined by trolling,” Cronfeld said. “We wanted to duplicate the nice vibe we experience when being introduced to friends of our best friends. There’s always a dash of trust and an expectation that we’re somehow on the same page.”
Hanky already receives thousands of applications every day from around the world, but eight out of 10 guys do not get in. Jonas says: “We will probably never have 5 million members like some of these other apps because so many get turned away. But we’ll choose quality over quantity any day. Sure, big numbers are nice, but none of our competitors have got the actual experience right—something we will never compromise on. Our users are nicer and sexier.”
Cronfeld said while Hanky is currently only available for users with iPhone, they plan to release a version for Android smartphones this year.