LGBTQ+ dating app continuing to grow since its launch nearly 10 years ago

SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX) — A dating app for the LGBTQ+ community focused on queer women and gender-diverse people continues to grow with more than 13 million users around the world in the almost 10 years since it launched.

HER and its creator helped highlight the diversity in stories that contribute to Women's History Month this March. 

"It's been incredible. It's been a journey and a labor of love," said Robyn Exton, CEO and founder of the HER app. 

HER is now available in 113 countries and in five different languages. The idea came to Exton as she began her own journey dating in the LGBTQ community and did not find what she was looking for at the time. 

"When I very first started the app, I just started kind of exploring my sexuality about six months prior. And I spent a lot of time in bars and nightclubs meeting people," Exton told KPIX. "Bars and nightclubs aren't the best place to actually have a conversation."

Exton remembers that there were so many options for straight people at the time and many that were labeled as websites or apps for the LGBTQ+ community. 

"They were all truly built for gay men, and they would just make it pink and go, 'This is great, this will work for lesbians,'" Exton said. "And it was a completely different experience, completely different type of product."

So, when she created HER, the user experience aimed to be different and capture the unique characteristics of sapphic dating. Exton explains that is an umbrella term that includes queer women as well as nonbinary and transgender people. 

One way the users can better express themselves on HER is by using pins that go beyond sexual orientation and gender identity. Exton said by letting people place these pins on their profiles, it helps users to find others like them.

She wants to see HER get to the same place in the public discourse as other LGBTQ+ apps like Grindr. That dating app focused on gay men is now a publicly traded company, a goal she has for HER over the next five years. A promising sign for the company is that HER is now included in research of multiple dating apps. 

"I think now we really are like valued and appreciated for helping people express who they really are and find the other people like them," she said. 

Exton said some of the challenges of a growing app is keeping it accessible and relatable to users of all ages. HER, like many other apps, wants to keep users engaged. So, limiting conversations to a certain number of people at a time is one way they could take on that passive activity. 

But as more members of Gen Z choose to date, Exton sees an opportunity for HER and a positive sign for the sapphic community, given the rising number of people with diverse sexual orientations and gender identities. 

"We are a significant demographic that is growing hugely amongst younger people. And so, telling our stories and showcasing the value of this community in this audience as well as the businesses that operate to serve this community is really impactful."

For Women's History Month, Exton is proud that she and the company can serve as an example of queer women leading and running an app. It's needed not only in the tech industry but the business world in general.

She adds that HER is a company made up mostly of LGBTQ+ employees, one more way they can improve representation in the country.