Of all of the homosexual hookup apps Brennan Zubrick makes use of, Sniffiesa cruising app for males involved in discreet sex-positive informal encounters with different males, is by far his favourite. Among the most popular kinks amongst members on the platform embrace edging, cum play, and BDSM. “I overwhelmingly choose the expertise I get and the group I can entry,” he tells WIRED. However Zubrick, who’s 40 and based mostly in Washington, DC, has a foul feeling that might quickly change.
Tinder and Hinge mother or father firm Match Group introduced on Monday an funding of $100 million into Sniffies. The deal provides Match Group a big minority share and the selection to grow to be the only proprietor afterward. The announcement has set off an intense firestorm of reactions from customers who’re second-guessing the route of the corporate and the longterm sustainability of the app.
“Sniffies has lengthy held its market place because the little man, catering to a particular part of the homosexual group, and is someplace individuals who won’t be snug with Grindr—the place no face-pic, no-chat tradition runs rampant—go to attach with different like-minded folks in a extra direct and discreet manner,” Zubrick tells WIRED.
“This partnership is about supporting that, not redefining it,” Sniffies founder and CEO Blake Gallagher stated in a statementnoting that the funding will assist the platform deal with three key areas customers need: “stronger belief and security, expansive community development, and continued product enhancements.” In accordance with the settlement, Match Group will provide steerage on the correct roles, procedures, and tech to assist Sniffies construct on its belief and security efforts.
However customers aren’t shopping for what Gallagher is promoting. The Instagram post asserting the information was inundated with unfavourable reactions, as customers expressed fear over the strategic partnership. “Please don’t let this be the straightification of sniffies,” expressed one. “You bought out. Plain and easy. The place we transferring to subsequent boys?” added Marc Sundstrom, a consumer in Philadelphia. “Partnering with Match feels very gentrified and straight. Extremely involved in regards to the app being allowed to be what it’s as a way to courtroom buyers,” wrote one other. By Tuesday afternoon, feedback on the submit had been shut off.
Although it stays to be seen how Gallagher will place Sniffies within the months forward, already customers are saying this marks the start of the end for the app. “Straight folks shouldn’t even know what Sniffies is for fuck sake,” one wrote within the r/askgaybros subreddit. And regardless of guarantees, some say a significant company like Match just isn’t ethically aligned with the indie spirit of Sniffies. On LinkedIn, the top comment underneath Gallagher’s submit questioned the actual intent behind Match Group’s funding. “ to see how ties to Palantir have an effect on Sniffies’ development. Hopefully this doesn’t grow to be a surveillance software.”
Spencer Rascoff, who turned CEO of Match Group in 2025, beforehand served on the board of Palantirthe protection tech and knowledge mining firm that has grow to be a “technological backbone” of the Trump administration.
Sniffies maintains that it’ll proceed to personal and management how its consumer knowledge is saved, dealt with, and guarded. In accordance with the corporate, there are not any modifications deliberate to its knowledge practices as a part of the funding.
However the outrage underscores the importance of platforms like Sniffies and what it could imply to a group of people that already really feel like they’ve so few high quality choices for searching for need on-line.
“It’s a multitude and clearly to be anticipated. It’s positively an indicator of its quick rise, so no shade, however we noticed what occurred with Grindr,” says Brad Allen, a 34-year-old occasion producer and the creator behind Club Quarantinewho joined Sniffies in 2023. “I actually am pulling for them to one way or the other navigate this otherwise because it’s important to the cruising group now. Hopefully the pop-up Sweet Crush advertisements don’t gentle up an excessive amount of within the bushes.”
