The Best Dating App for Lesbians

I have good news and bad news. The good news? Dattch, the revolutionary UK-based dating app created by lesbians for lesbians is crossing the pond. The bad news: it’s only coming to San Francisco. Sad day, I know. But still! One small step is better than no step at all, right?

Right! According to tech blog, ReadWrite, Dattch’s safe landing in the golden state is actually very good news, considering Dattch is unlike any other dating app for lesbians. Sure, you could check the “I’m a woman seeking women” box on apps like OkCupid, or use the location-based app, Brenda — it's "like Grindr" for lesbians — but Dattch is different. Created by women for women who are interested in women, the app has a completely different feel to it, and recognizes that “women aren’t the same as men.”

This concept, strangely enough, hasn't been acknowledged in the dating app realm. This is where Dattch's creator Robyn Exton, a former branding consultant, comes in. Exton recognized this void and answered the age-old question "What do women (who date women) want?" She then took the answer, put it in app form, and voila! Dattch was born.

"There were apps that were out there, but they were all re-skins of gay male apps,” Exton explains. "I’d been working with the dating business so I kind of knew the space. I think something that we just picked up really quickly was that it wasn’t just that there was a lack of apps for lesbians, but there was a lack of apps for women in general actually looking at what women want, particularly in dating."

So yeah, what exactly do women who date women want? What do women in general want? This is why the app is smart: it recognizes the idea that women are "bad at selling themselves." Influenced by sites with high female audiences like Instagram and Pinterest, Dattch focuses more on image collections rather than the typical "describe yourself" process other apps encourage.

"When you look at an Instagram feed or you look at a Pinterest board, you can so easily consume who that person is. But also women take a lot of care and time in creating them rather than having to think of the words and not doing that 'overselling' thing, whereas if you’re actually uploading images of who you are… It’s a much more natural process. We only knew that because the other platforms before us had done that."

The app is also considerably less aggressive than other dating apps, especially in comparison to Grindr. Instead of the emphasis on exact location and images of pecs (not like there's anything wrong with this, it's just not necessarily for women), Dattch is more subtle. Just one look at the main page and you'll see tasteful images of women's faces who are "nearby." Much better!

"You can’t just take Grindr and make it pink and give it to women and say 'Ta da!' It’s a completely different experience and product—and I think no one seems to have taken the time to do it yet."

I know, I know. We're getting all excited about something that only the lovely ladies of San Francisco and the UK get to use. However, there is a "but": if you download the app, you can request that your city join the Dattch network. Perhaps someday, after a little (or a lot) of requesting, more "women seeking women" can exclaim "no seriously, there's an app for that now!" when old-fashioned methods of dating fail.