Spaces, a safe platform for queer connections

Spaces is a free app for queer people to connect. Unlike dating apps, it functions as a giant chatroom for the entire LGBTQ+ spectrum.

Its parent company, Hornet, was founded in 2011 as a dating app for queer men and is now a social network with 35m users.

Why it matters

Many marginalized communities face harassment on social media platforms, the largest of which have been criticized for their failure to stop it.

“Those platforms subsist on spurring hatred and trolling,” Hornet/Spaces executive editor Stephan Horbelt told The Hustle. “Spaces is a place where people go to talk about the things they want to lift up and celebrate.”

Spaces launched…

… on March 1 for iOS and is coming soon to Android. It’s raised $899k+ on Wefunder, and already has ~1.5k individual “spaces” on the platform:

• Anyone can make a public or private space
• They function like group chats with threaded conversations
• Many are for specific interests (e.g., gaming, movies, fitness)
• Others are location-based or for various segments of the community (e.g., bi men, nonbinary people, transgender women)

Horbelt said the first space to get really popular was for Black, queer, and transgender weightlifters.

“The value proposition of our app,” Horbelt said, “is all about queer people being able to come to a digital platform where they can be their full selves.”