A recently-launched dating app is drawing fire for its stringent rules on joining.
Hanky — an app that hails itself as “a better way to meet men” — puts up new users to a vote, and any three current users can help decide whether that person should be allowed to join.
Cofounder Jonas Cronfeld confirms that 8 out of 10 applicants are rejected — and the hope is to get “more sexy” users.
“For a long time,” he says, “we’ve been fed up with the vibe of the other gay apps. 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.”
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“Sure, big numbers are nice,” Cronfeld says, “but none of our competitors have got the actual experience right – something we will never compromise on. Our user are nicer and more sexy.”
The practice was put in place to keep out “creeps, timewasters and fake profiles.”
You can also register for Hanky if a current member invites you. However, that requires verification by phone.
According to their press release, “Hanky has been developed in response to growing concerns about the trolling of ordinary users of dating apps. 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.”
What do you think? Do you find the exclusionary nature of the joining process to be offensive?
h/t: Pink News
