Since the pandemic, there have been endless think pieces on the decline of the dating app. The dating app is “dead,” people are experiencing “dating burnout,” and Gen Z is “ditching dating apps.” According to a 2023 Pew Research Center survey, roughly nine in 10 Americans who had used dating sites or apps in the previous year said they'd felt disappointed by the people they encountered at least sometimes. Users were also about twice as likely to say they often felt disappointed as they were to say they often felt excited about their experiences. In other words, people are still hopeful for connection, they’re just getting tired of how they're expected to find it. And in the midst of this dating app apocalypse, one platform seems to have found its stride.
Feeld is a dating app for “open-minded individuals.” In its mission statement, the company vows to “elevate the human experience of sexuality and relationships” for its 14 million users. Aside from the typical prompts you may see on other popular dating apps—your age, your likes, and what kind of relationship you’re looking for—there’s also space for you to specify your sexual desires and find others who share them.
And this system seems to be working quite well. Feeld is seeing a lot of growth as more people look beyond traditional dating apps for relationships and sex that feel a little less conventional. According to The Guardian, the UK-based app—which caters to non-monogamous, queer, kinky, and generally “curious” daters—saw revenue jump 32 percent to £64 million. The company’s profits also increased.
Although Feeld is based in the UK, lot of this growth is coming from outside the region, with cities like New York, Toronto, and Paris seeing user numbers rise by more than 20 percent.
And even though the app was originally geared toward unconventional relationships, it’s starting to attract everyone. People who may have originally stuck to apps like Tinder or Hinge are joining Feeld, suggesting that the app is doing something right—or that more people are interested in exploring alternative approaches to dating.
Match Group, the parent company of Tinder and Hinge, reported that its paying users fell 5 percent in 2025, to 14.2 million. Tinder's paying-user numbers dropped 7 percent, while Hinge's grew 18 percent. So while some of the biggest names in online dating are struggling to retain paying users, others are still finding ways to grow—including Feeld.
“I think our growth ultimately comes from giving people the freedom to be clearer about who they are and what they want, rather than asking them to fit into a traditional dating model,” Dina Mohammad-Laity, Vice President of Data at Feeld tells Cosmopolitan.
In looking at customer satisfaction data, Mohammad-Laity explains that community seems to be the most important to the users who join (and stay) on Feeld. They care less about getting a certain number of matches and more about showing up honestly. They value having meaningful conversations, even if it doesn’t go anywhere.
She explains that dating apps need to move away from just swiping and instead invest into digital tools that help its users understand themselves more and express what they want.
“Feeld has always created space for that, from the range of genders and sexualities members can use to define themselves to the freedom to explore their desires and connect without having to fit into a traditional dating box,” she says.
She also contributes Feeld’s success in moving away from the screen. Along with its self-discovery tools like Reflections, Feeld also hosts live events where people can meet and connect IRL.
In Feeld’s latest State of Dating report, they found that 80 percent of people felt like modern dating was missing something. And yet, Feeld—the embodiment of “modern” dating—continues to grow.
“To me, those aren’t contradictory findings,” Mohammad-Laity says. “They’re telling us that people still want connection, but they’re asking for better ways to find it.”
And to her, the idea that the “dating app is dead” is far from the truth.“The old dating-app playbook is evolving,” she says, “and Feeld is helping shape what comes next.”