What is Jack’d? Everything you need to know about the ‘fastest growing gay social app in the world’
Online dating app Jack’d, similar to Tinder and Grindr, shows users around 300 eligible guys on an interface that is geolocated by those closest to where you are. Unlike Tinder and Grindr it’s tailored specifically for people of colour.
Users can also check out men based on their location, in a similar way users of Grindr can.
The app requires users to rate each other, unlike on Grindr, but moving away from the Tinder-style of swiping, guys tick either a ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ box under a profile to suggest whether or not they’re into someone else.
Although Jack’d is more geared toward NSA meetups, the app makes sense for relationships too and rather than encourage x-rated snaps, the tone on Jack’d is more sophisticated, with most users offering a good selection of photos.
And rejoice! As a rule, images are sweetly innocent in a way you could feasibly show your grandma – unlike on Grindr.
The parent company of the Jack’d app is a company called Online Buddies, who make the bold claim that the app is the “fastest-growing gay social app in the world”.
The company say the app boasts 5 million users around the world, a number which has grown steadily since Jack’d’s launch in 2010. The firm say the app has 10,000 installs per day on average and ranks fourth highest gay dating app on App Store and Google Play.
Jack’d way back when…
Jack’d began life at Cornell, an Ivy League university in New York, in 2010 as a campus-based means for hooks ups between gay, bisexual and curious guys. It has since grown to a user base of 1.2 million internationally, spanning 180 countries.
Honesty and transparency
In the app’s own words, “if you like him tell him. If you don’t like how that feels, say so. Girl, if you like short shorts, wear them”.
Jack’d believe that the ability to “stand up and tell it like it is” is what makes the LGBTQ+ community stand out, and promote an inclusive and authentic community of users.
Jack’d added extras
Of course, to keep in line with other apps there is a premium service which provides a more personalised experience. Jack’d Pro offers unlimited daily matches, more advanced filtering services, anonymous profile viewing, and “insight” data on matching.
Related: Queer Eye’s Karamo Brown takes swipe at dating apps
It has been suggested that POC communities are rife with more internalised homophobia, and interestingly one Jack’d user has insisted the app features more closeted men than some of its competitors.
“For whatever reason… POC aren’t as comfortable coming out. You see a lot more torso on Jack’d than on Scruff, where everyone posts their faces. I imagine that has a lot to do with internalized homophobia in POC communities,” the unidentified user told The Washington Post.
Online Buddies is an umbrella group for more LGBTQ+ companies than Jack’d.
Dandy is a “gamified” way for the gay community to meet. Rather than a simple, functional interface users are encouraged to meet guys digitally in an environment that reflects play. Swiping left and right is still the call-to-action, only the wider experience feels more like a game than a dating app.
Interestingly, the app also reveals which guys in your area are most popular.
Manhunt is a historical gay dating app which launched in 2001. Still serving “millions of men in dozens of countries,” Online Buddies claim the app is still the world’s best place for guys to meet.
