Cruising app Sniffies has entered into a $100 million partnership with Match Group, the parent company of Tinder and Hinge, prompting concern among users that the sex-positive platform could lose the raw, community-driven feel that helped make it popular.
Under the deal, Match Group will become a significant minority owner of Sniffies, with the option to acquire the remaining equity in the future.
“Sniffies was built by Cruisers and for Cruisers,” founder and CEO Blake Gallagher said in a statement. “This partnership gives us additional resources to scale that experience globally, without losing the foundational perspective and principles it was built on.”
Sniffies, which has 3 million monthly active users, is known for its real-time interactive map, allowing queer men to find nearby hookups through quick, user-submitted listings. The app has become one of the most recognisable modern platforms linked to the historic queer practice of cruising.
“Sniffies works because it reflects how connection actually happens: on your own terms, in your own space,” Gallagher said. “That part of the Sniffies experience won’t change. This partnership gives us additional resources to scale that experience globally, without losing the foundational perspective and principles it was built on.”
According to Gallagher, the partnership is expected to help Sniffies roll out new features more quickly, expand into international markets and improve safety and trust on the platform, including stronger action against “spam and bad actors”.
Users fear Sniffies will lose its edge
The deal comes as Match Group continues to broaden its dating app empire. Last year, the company purchased lesbian and bi+ dating app HER, and it has also acquired platforms aimed at specific communities, including Muslim, Christian, Black, Latino and Asian users.
In 2023, Match Group launched Archer, its own dating app for queer men. Following the Sniffies partnership, the company has announced Archer will be wound down.
“From the first time I met the Sniffies team a year ago, it was clear they had a deep understanding of their users and a strong point of view on how its community actually connects,” said Spencer Rascoff, chief executive officer of Match Group.
“That conviction has only strengthened over time as we’ve seen how thoughtfully they’ve built the product. There’s also clear and growing demand in this space, and Sniffies feels genuinely different and authentic to its audience. We’re excited to support the founders as they continue to build on their vision.”
Gallagher has insisted Sniffies will remain the same “unapologetic” cruising platform that users have embraced.
“We’re not moving away from what makes Sniffies work: openness and directness,” he said.
“We’re continuing to build around real-world connection, with the same focus on immediacy, discovery, and exploration that got us here.”
However, early reaction from users suggests many are disappointed, with some accusing the app of selling out to a corporate dating giant.
“You can keep reiterating that it’s founder-led and independently operated but statements as we are learning don’t mean shit these days,” reads the top comment on Sniffies’ Instagram announcement post.
“$100M investment from Match Group with path for full ownership. This just taints the respect as a business people had for you guys. Now Sniffies, the app that felt so gritty and raw in nature, that stood differently, that fell right in it’s anonymity is probably going to end up conforming to its shareholders in likes of Tinder and Hinge.”
Sniffies is currently the second-largest dating app for queer men, behind Grindr. But for many users, the question now is whether a platform built around anonymity, immediacy and cruising culture can retain that identity with Match Group in the background.
