When Tinder came out with verified profiles in 2015 to eliminate people thinking they ran into the Ryan Gosling instead of a fake, it was helpful for a while, but not exclusive enough for some celebs.
Recently a few apps have launched that are exclusively for celebrities. Much like some of the hottest clubs these celebs go to, these dating apps are private, invite-only apps that put them in touch with other high profile people.
The League Mobile Dating App
One app, The League, which started out in 2014 with a beta launch in San Francisco, invites users based on their LinkedIn profiles and their friend networks. The League uses an advanced screening algorithm to keep their dating pool well balanced and high quality.
The greatest thing about The League is that it uses your LinkedIn connections and completely hides your profile from your friends, business contacts, and coworkers. Who wouldn’t want a little stealth in their online dating? The app also uses your Facebook account to pull photos, personal information, and interests from your profile to match you more effectively
The downsides are that you’re only given 5 potential matches per day, and if you match with another user and don’t reach out to or respond to that match in 3 weeks, the match expires.
However, there are a couple of great things I noticed that I wish everyday folks on Tinder would get to experience.
Users of The League can set ultra-specific preferences for potential matches, including height, education, and ethnicity, as well as the Tinder-offered gender, age, and distance preferences. Matches can also be sorted into different categories based on how good of a match they are, how recently you matched, and how flaky the user is. Another cool thing about the app is the concierge service they offer to users. Every user gets a concierge to answer any questions they have about the app and to let them know about in-app updates.
Raya Mobile Dating App
The other celeb-only app, Raya, aka the “Illuminati Tinder,” is an exclusive dating app and networking platform for people in creative industries. Raya launched in spring 2014 and has somehow, unlike The League, stayed totally out of the press until the recent announcement I viewed on Mashable that Amy Schumer met her new beau on Raya.
Raya is made of up a diverse group of people, but a group that is generally more Internet famous, like vloggers, artists, models, pro skateboarders and dancers, clothing designers, and even YouTube beauty guru. A secretive, anonymous committee admits each member to the app, based in part on their Instagram presence. Like The League, an algorithm that considers a few very key factors evaluates applicants on:
- Overall Instagram influence,
- Who recommended the applicant, and
- How many active Raya members follow the applicant on Instagram
Instagram was the chosen platform for users to log in with because they believe it’s the most creative and expressive social network, which makes sense, considering Raya is designed for creatives.
There are two downsides to Raya. One, it charges users a membership fee, but Raya states on their website that it’s purely to “keep the lights on” and to eliminate advertisements that would cheapen the Raya experience. The other is, you’ll probably end up on their wait-list.
Related: Inside the Secret Online Dating Celebrity World
Celebrities on Tinder
As cool as these exclusive apps are, you still might find a celeb or two while you’re swiping through Tinder, or you’ve watched Jimmy Fallon’s frequent segments on Tinder for celebrities. A few celebs, like Hilary Duff and Britney Spears, have been spotted on Tinder. Duff even turned her Tinder experience into a music video for her song “Sparks,” off her 2015 album, Breathe In. Breathe Out, her first release in over 7 years. Mariah Carey also took to dating sites the rest of us use to promote her music as well by creating a profile and debuting the video to her break-up song, “Infinity,” on the site. Other artists, such as Ed Sheeran, were offered verified profiles, but the singer/songwriter turned it down, claiming he didn’t have time to be going on a lot of dates and that he’d rather spend his time talking about his music.
Dating pools on both The League and Raya are still relatively small since they’re so selective, so you may have better luck on apps available to non-celebs. It may take you a while to actually find an A-lister on an app like Tinder, but they’re out there, so keep swiping!
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Julie Spira is America’s Top Online Dating and Mobile Dating Expert and Digital Matchmaker. She’s been helping singles find love online for over 20 years with her Irresistible Coaching programs.
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Julie Spira is America's Top Online Dating Expert. She's an award-winning dating coach who's been helping singles find love online for 25+ years. Follow @JulieSpira on IG.
