A new revolutionary iPhone and iPad app has just hit the market, adding a new tool to on-line relationships. Creator Adam Newell, one-time server at Liza Vanderpump’s SUR in West Hollywood, calls it an “all-inclusive video dating platform for people of all ages, sexualities and locations” and he means it. Known as The Coy App, the on-line dating release is the first to include a profile distinction for transgenders.
“There are a lot of dating apps out there right now, so it’s a crowded market. But the problem is that 54% of the user profiles on them are ‘catfish’”’—phony profiles from wannabes, Newell told the Florida Agenda. “Transgender users, because they are normally identified as a man or a woman, are isolated and at a disadvantage when it comes to in-person meets. Typically, they are not upfront about it, and it can lead to a dangerous and hostile environment.”
The concept for the app came to Newell when his brother met a date on Tinder who turned out to be transgender and hadn’t revealed it before. “He felt cheated and deceived, but the date said, ‘I really didn’t have the option of selecting the category, and if I wrote in in my profile, it would be the first thing people see and judge me on.’”
“What we did was create a dating platform that has a safer platform for all communities—both LGBT and straight. And not only are we all-inclusive, but after you set up your profile, you are required to make a 10-second ‘first impression’ video. What that does is put a voice to a face and within those ten seconds, you’ll know if this is a match.”
Once the initial sign-up is completed, a user can determine the kind of person they want to search for with customizable specifics including age, gender, sexuality and distance.
“When users find someone they like, they send their video as an introduction, and if the person is interest, they send their video in response,” Newell said. “If there is mutual interest, then the users can chat and build a connection.”
This is not another version of Scruff or Grindr, which are designed for quite hook-ups. The Coy App is all about the connection.
Newell came out a year ago, before moving from Los Angeles to New York. Originally from the city of Royal Palm in Palm Beach County, Florida, 22-year-old Newell made several moves back and forth with family to Tennessee, before ultimate becoming an intern at E! Entertainment in LA. After eventually being hired as a model represented by Wilhelmina, he became involved with SUR and its owner Lisa Vanderpump, herself a huge LGBT advocate. Newell hopes to ultimately throw a launch party to benefit The Trevor Project, which provides crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to gay and lesbian youth ages 13-24.
“I saw an opportunity to take some of the danger out of on-line dating, particularly for the transgender community who is more susceptible even in today’s more open environment. The Coy App is for them, and for you, and for everyone.”
The free app is available for download through the Apple Store. No catfish allowed.
