Extra-marital dating app Gleeden, originally developed in France, has said that it has crossed 13 lakh subscribers in India during the COVID-19 period, adding that its subscription rate skyrocketed over the past three months.
During September, October and November, subscriptions from India grew by over 246% as compared to June, July and August, the company said.
According to the company, the platform has gained almost three lakh subscribers in the last four months of which 2.5 lakh users were added in the past two months.
Overall, the time spent on the website tripled since 2019. Even after the lockdown restrictions were lifted, people still felt safer with virtual dating as compared to a real-life meeting, as the risk to catch the virus still remains high.
"We are pleased to see the nationwide acceptance of our extramarital dating platform," Sybil Shiddell, Country Manager, Gleeden, India, said in a statement.
What is 'Gleeden'?
Gleeden is a French online dating community and social networking service primarily marketed to women, specifically those who are already in a relationship.
Launched in France in 2009, the app has since then expanded its base to 159 countries, with the membership service being free for women and the faculty of the app being all women. Gleeden is primarily marketed to married men and women.
While the app has repeatedly faced controversy for allowing the status of married men and women to be identified online, Gleeden has, for its part, defended its theme by saying that "extramarital affairs can intervene as therapy for a couple", in an age where divorce rates among newlyweds and married couples are higher than ever.
"Gleeden is a facilitator of confidence where married couples can disregard the taboo and explore their desires safely," the company had said in a statement.
Bengaluru leads the boom in Gleeden subscribers
The platform also gained massive grounds in Tier-1 cities with Bengaluru claiming the 1st spot with 16.2 per cent of the total Gleeden community in India and has shown a more than 17 per cent growth in terms of new user acquisition since March 2020.
They are followed by Mumbai with 15.6 per cent of Gleeden users and with a growth rate of over 14 per cent. Delhi has moved up to the third spot with 15.4 per cent of Indian users and a growth of over 25 per cent.
Indians chat for 'longer' durations than Europeans
Gleeden also informed that Indians stay in chat slightly longer than Europeans -- on average 3.5 hours per day versus three hours (From March 2020 to November 2020).
The engagement of couples is at its peak during the weekend, the peak hours though remain constant all throughout the week i.e 10 p.m. to 12 a.m.
The men users on the platform are spending more since the beginning of the lockdown as there has been an over 45 per cent increase in the expenditure.
(With inputs from IANS)
