After SC ruling on adultery, same-sex relations, dating apps expect user boost in India

The recent landmark judgments on adultery and consensual same-sex relations by the Supreme Court have paved the way for the entry of several niche dating applications in India. These apps are providing easy connectivity to the LGBT community to date as per their sexuality.

On September 6, the Supreme Court decriminalised the British-era law on homosexuality and ruled that consensual gay sex was not a crime anymore. Days later on September 26, the apex court ruled that adultery can no longer be termed as a crime, and that "thinking of adultery from a point of view of criminality is a retrograde step".

Apart from Tinder, which is the highest grossing dating app in India, some of the prominent apps focussing on LGBTQ dating and extramarital affairs are Grindr, Wingman, homegrown dating app Delta, and Gleeden (a dating site for married people). Globally, Tinder has a user base of over 3 million paid subscribers for the gold category. The most popular online dating app is not only famous among heterosexual people but LGBTQ users too, as it allows them to change preferences as per their sexuality.

"With adultery decriminalised, India is probably going to face a 'sentimental revolution' that will force the country to rethink marriage and relationships as they are," said Solen Paillet, manager of the all-women team at Gleeden, a French dating app for married people, told the Economic Times.

With over 3.4 lakh users in India, Gleeden is focusing on expanding in metropolitan cities like Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru. The recent judgment on adultery would definitely give the much-needed boost to the French company, which is run by all-women staff. As per the company, its users are increasing rapidly in India, and come from the privileged background. Globally, the company has over 45 lakh users.

Grindr, which is a social networking app for gay, bi, trans, and queer people, is also focusing on cashing in on the SC verdict on same-sex marriage by launching sexual health recourse pages in Hindi and eight other common languages.

Another app, Wingman, lets you become an actual wingman for your "single friend" to find a perfect match, and is also planning its India entry next year. Unusual dating apps like UK-based Bristlr, which describes itself as 'Tinder for beards', is an app to find your ideal beard-loving partner. Though the company does not have a presence in India, it "could well consider localising the app in future", as claimed by its founder John Kershaw.

Edited by Manoj Sharma