The Inner Circle
Nothing says exclusivity quite like an invite-only community. The Inner Circle is a dating platform where you have to be connected with an existing member as part of the screening process. You’ll be invited to events and parties every month, where you can meet some of the service’s 270,000 members. You may have to wait to be approved, though, as the company claims to have 250,00 applicants on its waiting list.
Download the app from the Google Play Store and App Store.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Raya
If you’re a celebrity or social media star looking for love, but fear regular dating sites could expose you to a media frenzy, there’s an app tailored just for you. Called Raya, the dating service can only be accessed if you pass a thorough application process. Applicants must stand out from the crowd, the company says, so single Nasa scientists and film stars are more likely to be allowed in to this exclusive community.
Raya is only available on the Apple App Store. Subscriptions start at £5.99 per month.
The League
You shouldn’t lower your standards when you enter the online dating world, says The League, an app that aims to find you a partner who matches your every preference. Applicants have their Facebook and LinkedIn profiles screened before they’re allowed in. This is done to both clarify their identity and make sure their profile isn’t visible to co-workers, friends or family members. Only people who meet your exact preferences can see your profile and you must respond to match requests within 21 days to have a chance of a date.
The app can be downloaded through the Google Play Store and Apple’s App Store.
Luxy
Even millionaires can be lonely but the bad news is that many of them are looking for someone with a similar bank balance, rather than hoping to rescue the rest of us. Luxy verifies its users by checking their tax return forms, ensuring they’ll only be in contact with people who are equally well heeled. The service says that one out of every two members is worth over $500,000, while 41% of members boast a wealth of $1m-plus.
Download the app via the Google Play Store or the App Store.
Social Concierge
Unlike Tinder and Plenty of Fish, where users chat to singletons online before meeting up in person, Social Concierge users can only meet people when they are offline. The company organises private parties for members to get together, so the app is only used to register for upcoming events. Users are in their 20s and 30s, “well-educated” and with “a passion for what they do,” says Social Concierge. Much like other exclusive services, applicants are vetted before they’re allowed in.
The app is available to download on the App Store for £30 per month.
Mensa Match
A bit like Luxy, where millionaires can find other singletons with healthy bank balances, Mensa Match helps intellects with an IQ of 130 or more to find someone with a similar level of brain power. The service has been set up by the dating website Match in partnership with Mensa, the society for people with an IQ in the top 2% of the population.
Since only the brightest can join, Mensa has just 134,000 members, of whom only a fraction are likely to use the dating service. However, Mensa members can also use the app to find love outside of the society, widening their options.
Hanky
Hanky is a dating app for gay men that is significantly more exclusive than Grindr, with applicants put through a rigorous screening test before existing members decide whether they should be accepted onto the platform. This ensures no one can set up fake accounts, according to its creators, and avoids “time wasters”.
Hanky is so exclusive that roughly eight in ten applicants are declined.
Precedent-setting lawsuit against Glock seeks gun industry accountability
5 cozy books to read this December
Jay Bhattacharya: another Covid-19 critic goes to Washington
