To kick off this year's Pride Month, Match Group announces the newest addition to its array of dating apps: Archer, a "social-first" dating app for gay, bisexual, and queer men. Archer will be available in the New York City area this summer, and rolls out nationally within the year. It's now available for pre-registration on the App Store and Google Play, and will be available to download later in June.
Archer partnered with LGBTQ media advocacy group GLAAD to make sure the app was reflective of today's queer community, and worked with 1,200 queer men through surveys, interviews, and product testing as well. The result is an app with features focused on keeping users safe and allowing them to share and express themselves at their discretion.
"We've relied on feedback from the community to build the unique platform experience they're looking for to empower men to be their full selves, and to genuinely, and more safely, connect with others," said Archer's chief product officer, Marcus Lofthouse, in the press release.
Features that will be immediately available at signup, according to Archer's press release:
Profile photo verification: Selfie verification is required when signing up for Archer. This is a big shift from Grindr, the ubiquitous gay hookup app, which fosters near-anonymous meet-ups.
Interactive user interface: Archer's interface is customizable, with three different options to view someone's profile. Scroll through a linear feed and view one profile at a time, view a zoomed-in grid showing 15 profiles at once, or view a zoomed-out grid showing dozens of profiles at a time. Choose-your-own dating adventure with these varying layouts.
Community building tools: Users will be able to "follow" each other, emphasizing the "social-first" aspect of the app. Users can also make themselves searchable by using pre-set tags, and also hone in on what they're looking for as well. After the launch, users will be able to customize their own tags.
AI and human moderation features: Like other dating apps, Archer will use a combination of AI and human moderators to assure that profiles are authentic. Similar to Bumble's Private Detector, Archer's chat feature will smart-blur potentially nude photos, and give users the choice of whether they want to see it.
Additionally, users can add more than 20 profile photos and a bio with self-identifying tags.
Archer plans to roll out additional features later this year, including ephemeral content-sharing options and group chats. There's also plans for a Health Hub, a digital center to help provide access to medical and mental health resources.
"When I first tried dating apps almost a decade ago as a closeted gay man, the options available only reinforced the idea that love and connection in our community should be hidden," said Archer's director of brand marketing and communications Michael Kaye, in the presser. "Archer ushers in a new age of dating, celebrating self-expression and community and providing queer men with a safe space to connect freely with whoever they're looking for."
"We're hoping to begin rolling out in markets outside the United States as soon as 2024, with Berlin, London, Madrid, Paris, and Tel Aviv at the top of our lists right now," Kaye added.
