Dating Platforms Report Growth as Trans-Inclusive Features Roll Out

More than half (53%) of trans and non-binary people surveyed by GLAAD in 2024 said they feel like an after-thought on dating apps. Since then, Translr, Feeld, and other dating platforms that cater to LGBTQ+ singles are designing products and services with safety — and the complexity of disclosure — in mind. 

If “designing for disclosure” sounds unnecessary, just listen to Eva Morris’s story. It began like so many others: “I met a guy through a popular dating app,” she said. The honeymoon phase was short, and culminated in what would be the couple’s first and last meeting. 

“We decided to meet at a hotel for our first date,” she explained. “But once it was over, he never spoke to me again.” 

As a transgender woman, Morris was not only ghosted, she was also objectified, fetishized, and even harassed. 

“That’s when I realized he was never really interested in me — just the idea of me,” Morris said. “I felt used, like I was only there to satisfy a curiosity. It broke something in me.” 

Morris shared her experience with Translr, a dating app for LGBTQ+ singles and allies, to highlight the need for dating platforms that cater to the needs of trans and nonbinary singles. These platforms must foster user trust to provide fulfilling outcomes for trans singles. 

Disclosure isn’t always the goal — the decision to share one’s gender history is entirely up to the individual. But designing apps that keep trans singles safe and valued can take some of the anxiety out of the disclosure thought process. 

Innovating For Trans Singles Starts Behind the Scenes

The surge in anti-trans legislation underscores the need for dating platforms to lead with safety and inclusivity. 

Translr, for example, understands that empowerment is often the by-product of a supportive and like-minded community. The app “flips the script” by allowing users to customize their identifiers, along with their transition status, however they see fit. 

Maki Gingoyon, co-founder and CEO of My Transgender Date, told DatingNews that a supportive, respectful app environment usually starts behind the scenes. 

“We hire trans women, and our dating site is built by trans women for trans women,” she said. Representation is, after all, one of the simplest ways to gain insight into an overlooked group. A platform can’t meet the needs of its audience if it doesn’t understand its audience’s worldview. 

“Through this, we are confident that we are providing a genuine service,” Maki added. “This sets an example for mainstream platforms that real progress comes from compassion, representation, and lived experience.”

And progress isn’t the only benefit of behind-the-scenes representation. When users see themselves — their needs, their fantasies, their lived experience — in the app’s design, they’re more likely to feel a sense of safety, trust, and even loyalty to the app.

45% of Respondents Fear Fetishization on Apps

Translr also mandates inclusivity training for cis users, ensuring a respectful and educated environment where trans singles can explore their desires with significantly less fear of fetishization, judgement, and harassment. 

After all, just 6% of cis men cited fetishization as a reason to avoid disclosing their gender on apps, as compared with 45% of trans and nonbinary people, according to GLAAD. Overall, GLAAD’s survey found that only a quarter of transgender and nonbinary people came out on dating apps because of the potential negative fallout of disclosure. 

When GLAAD survey respondents did disclose their gender identity on their profiles, half of them described the experience as emotionally difficult. But when done in the right environment with proper support and trust, nearly two-thirds (65%) said doing so made them feel true to themselves.

Feeld, another dating app that caters to LGBTQ+ daters, knows firsthand how representation and communication is crucial to generating user trust in the trans community. As CEO Ana Kirova told Them in 2024, an app shouldn’t distance itself from its audience — far from it. 

In fact, the idea for one of Feeld’s proudest innovations came from a user suggestion. According to Kirova, the user felt unrepresented, and therefore unwelcome, on the app. 

This user wasn’t alone. GLAAD found that 58% of its trans and nonbinary survey respondents said it’s hard to know who will be accepting of their gender, and 41% feel unwanted by cis people. 

Developers Must Listen To Their Audience 

All dating platforms, but namely those serving the LGBTQ+ community, will only see engagement if they provide products, features, and services that directly respond to user concerns. 

Feeld’s solution was to expand the app’s gender and sexuality identity descriptions, and allow users to change their descriptions at any time — to give them the freedom to explore their own desires and identities. 

It’s a challenge for trans daters to feel real agency over their identities on dating apps, making Feeld’s and Translr’s innovations particularly valuable. Kirova explained how giving users judgement-free room to explore led to a 70% increase in trans user membership on Feeld.

Translr, too, has reported a 35% increase in users, thanks in part to a rise in “successful matches and daily conversations.”

“The only thing that’s constant is change,” Kirova said. “I want to give people the space to be themselves, even if that changes overnight.”

This is a powerful lesson for all dating platforms: If an app can’t adapt to the times, it won’t survive. 

“Even our platform still needs improvement and continued work,” Maki told us. “However, I believe we have an advantage in understanding trans women, since our platform is run by trans women.”

It’s possible that Morris could have had a more fulfilling and positive experience if she’d had access to a dating app that not only prioritized her safety, but her agency as a trans woman. The better the outcome, the more likely the user is to engage with the app and the app’s network of like-minded individuals.