Key Takeaways
- Match Group has acquired HER, its first platform focused solely on queer women, suggesting a strategic expansion into LGBTQ+ markets.
- HER’s founder sees the partnership as a way to provide a safer, more innovative, and more impactful dating experience to users.
- The partnership comes at a strategic time, as Match Group seeks innovative ways to counter revenue declines and regain traction with Gen Z.
Match Group is adding its first LGBTQ-focused property to its ever-growing portfolio. Some Match Group-owned dating apps welcome queer identities, but HER is the first to cater solely to lesbians and queer women.
The move will give HER the chance to expand its features, improve app performance, and foster a trusting and safe environment for queer women by tapping into Match Group’s resources, HER’s founder, Robyn Exton, wrote on LinkedIn.
“What started as a tiny team and a bold idea has grown into the largest sapphic platform in the world,” wrote Exton. “And now, we’re stepping into a brand new chapter, with the support and resources to scale HER in the way this amazing community has always deserved.”
Exton hopes that Match Group’s influence will mark a new chapter for HER. “We are a global audience with a voice, a culture, and a future,” she said. “And now we have the backing to build for that future with more care, more depth, and even more ambition.”
She also hopes that Match Group’s international impact will introduce HER to audiences in other countries. “We want to keep investing in an experience that truly serves sapphic needs wherever you are in the world,” she said.
HER and Match Group Both Have High Safety Standards
Safety is a high priority for today’s daters, especially for those in vulnerable demographics, such as the queer community. Exton praised Match Group’s Trust and Safety team and said its goals align with HER’s goals to “make HER safer, more secure, and more fulfilling for everyone using it.”
After all, no app is safe from romance scammers and fraudsters.
Match Group’s Trust and Safety team has made combatting romance scams a priority, which aligns with HER’s priorities, too. Exton explained how Match Group can help HER “maintain a higher level of protection” by providing “larger teams focused on fraud prevention, with the necessary expertise it takes to stay ahead.”
The current “Sapphic Renaissance” calls for an even stronger and more efficient version of HER, which Match Group will help provide, according to Exton. HER already provides an authentic and inclusive space for queer women; the hope is that Match Group’s resources will deepen HER’s impact.
“At a time when queer lives are being challenged and politicized, this partnership is more than just app growth. It’s a statement of values,” Exton said.
Match Group CEO Spencer Rascoff agreed in a LinkedIn post, saying, “We know our role is not to change what makes HER special, but to protect it and help it grow even stronger.”
Queer Dating is a Growing Market
Match Group sees growth potential within the queer dating space, as evidenced by this acquisition and by its 2023 app launch, Archer, a dating app for queer men.
On HER’s blog, Exton explained how queer women make up “the most underserved audience in dating, and the most eager for real connection,” making them an ideal demographic for industry growth.
HER prides itself on being “the first app to launch that exclusively focused on the needs of queer, bisexual, and lesbian dating.” Exton noticed a clear “gap to fill” in the dating app industry, and so, it seems, did Match Group.
Rascoff said that HER is “unapologetically queer, rooted in community, and ahead of its time,” much like another queer dating app that, for now, remains out of Match Group’s grasp: Grindr.
Match Group, which has more than 45 online dating brands under its umbrella, including Tinder, Hinge, and OkCupid, is a force to be reckoned with in the dating app industry. Its biggest competitors, Grindr and Bumble, are still worthy opponents, even as consumers steadily lose interest in online dating.
Match Group Continues To Grow Despite Setbacks
The acquisition of HER adds an imposing and diverse property to Match’s growing portfolio. Like many of Match Group’s acquisitions, HER appeals to a niche but growing audience, reflecting Match Group’s strategy to turn underserved communities into profitable markets.
But the acquisition comes amid falling revenue and workforce reductions at Match Group, prompting the question — why now? Is Match Group planning on gobbling up every competitor in the biz?
In its most recent earnings report, Rascoff said the company’s disappointing performance is connected to a “lack of innovation” and “our failure to recognize and respond to changes in the younger demographic, especially Gen Z and what they want.”
Acquiring HER may be Match Group’s attempt to respond to what Gen Z daters say they desire most: an inclusive dating app experience that prioritizes safety and authentic connections in an underserved community.
Rascoff said he plans on creating “fewer layers, faster execution, and a culture focused on creating value through innovation” at Match Group. Those are values both companies agree on.
