MID-DAY – Launched in June 2020, 'As You Are' is among India's only social applications for the LGBTQIA+ community. Created by Sunali Aggarwal, a UX designer, the app began as a matchmaking app. The main focus was to provide the Indian LGBTQIA+ community a safe space to be themselves. A key differentiator setting apart 'As You Are' is its manual verification of profiles. Besides matchmaking, users can try new features like 'Group Chat' and 'WE, As You Are Community' to connect with other queer users. The app also doesn't pressure people to post their photos. Early on, 'As You Are' saw a lot of growth. Within nine months of the launch, the app reached 10K users. Currently, the app claims ~65k downloads and ~32k active users.
Category: As You Are
Meet the Woman Behind India’s First LGBTQIA+ Dating App
TELEGRAPH INDIA – As You Are is helping the online dating scene in India become more inclusive and queer-friendly. The app was launched by Sunali Aggarwal. "I had always observed this problem with the community where people could not find each other mostly because everybody was closeted. Even with the decriminalisation of Section 377 in 2018, the problem persisted. And that is what triggered this idea of creating a space that is safe for the community to interact with each other," recollects Sunali. As You Are was successfully launched in 2020 and currently boasts 25K downloads and 2K active users. A key differentiator between As You Are and other apps was our process of verification, where people submitted their selfies with some basic information and were manually verified.
Dating App for Queers “As You Are” Raises $250K
MONEY CONTROL – 'As You Are', an Indian social networking and matchmaking app, has raised $250K in Compulsorily Convertible Debentures (CCDs), from queer couples who are angel investors and also Indian-origin entrepreneurs from the marketing space. AYA launched in June 2020 and has ~25K downloads.
by Mansi Verma
See full article at Money Control
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Dating App AYA Stands for “Come ‘As You Are'”
FINANCIAL EXPRESS – Apr 18 – AYA, a home-grown dating & social networking app built exclusively for the Indian LGBTQ+ community, prides itself on being a no-pressure zone. The app also aims to offer matchmaking services to the community one day. While the annulment of Section 377 may have granted the Indian LGBTQ+ community legal status, it did not neutralise or de-stigmatise the social taboos. AYA aims to create a safe space to counter the challenges of queer dating. With 9,500-plus downloads to date, the app is currently available for Android users. The user base accounts for 40% from tier-1 cities, 40% from tier-2 cities, and the rest from all over the country.
As You Are (AYA) – Indian LGBTQ Dating App
THE HINDU – Nov 4 – Two years ago, when the Supreme Court read down Article 377, decriminalizing homosexuality in India, Sunali Aggarwal had an idea. She began working on a new app, As You Are (AYA). After users fill in basic details, that include gender, orientation, an email address and a phone number, they have to upload a selfie which is verified by the team. The app is in English, and sees 60 people sign up daily with ~5K+ downloads to date. Going beyond just dating, AYA also hopes to provide a space to make friends within the LGBTQ+ spectrum.
As You Are – A Homegrown LGBTQ Dating App in India
INDIAN EXPRESS – Aug 25 – Indian LGBTQ dating app called "As You Are" aims to offer a safe space for people to make connections while keeping their identity confidential. The app was created by two women – Sunali Aggarwal and Aditi Gupta. For close to two decades, the duo has closely worked with various startups. The app has a strong verification process to filter out fake or junk profiles early on. New users have to provide their email and phone number and a selfie for verification. The app is about two months old and is seeing ~60 signups on a daily basis.