'The dating apps are soul crushing. So I created my own kink-friendly social platform.'

As a single girlie, I can say with absolute confidence: dating in 2024 is a dumpster fire. 

If you're lucky enough to run into a real person as opposed to a bot on a dating app, and you get past the painful small talk (because how good can banter really be online?), you meet for a drink only to discover that the 6'5", 39-year-old dude you were chatting with is actually a 5'4", 60-year-old. And no, I'm not height-ist; I just don't like liars.

Then add into the equation a person's... specific sexual taste. Which, let's be honest, many of us have (more than you'd think) and it's 2024 so we're not kink-shaming these days, mmmkay? As long as everybody's consenting and nothing illegal is going down, go forth and get your pleasure however you like.

One person who understands these modern dating dramas is Lauren Rose, the founder of UNLCKED — the first sex-positive adult social platform designed to match users with other people that share their specific kinks (— and safely, without the BS).

"I was very much single and chasing what many women are looking for: that happily ever after," she shares. "But the dating apps are absolutely soul crushing. Neverending games, fairytale promises. At one point, I was using nine different dating apps at once. I even tried overseas ones, the desperation was real! Either they're not real, so you're talking to bots or you show up on and date and they're not who they said they were — having my time wasted."

After too many failed encounters, Lauren was done with dating, but "still had needs" ("No number of toys could satisfy my usual kinks," she laughs) — so she started thinking about how to still have sex "without all the bulls**t".

Just walk into a bar! I hear you cry. But, no. We all know it isn't that simple. Especially when you're looking for a very specific type of fun — like Lauren was.

"What was available in the kink and fetish scene was even more soul-crushing (or should we say libido-crushing) than the dating apps. Old clunky software riddled with scam artists, minimal kink categories, and tons of kink shaming," she explains.

"I just saw a problem, so out of pure frustration and desire for something revolutionary, I decided to fix it."

And UNLCKED was born.

Image: UNLCKED.

UNLCKED's matching process is... different.

Lauren developed UNLCKED to empower people to explore their sexuality shamelessly, and match people based on their unique sexual footprint. 

While other platforms offer something akin to this, Lauren — who began work on the app three years ago — takes finding the *right* match more seriously than most, which is reflected in the sign-up and vetting process.

"I'm into BDSM and the sub-layers of it, and the majority of men tell me they can give me that. But in reality they have no idea what that actually is," Lauren explains, saying that "wannabe Christian Greys can be outright dangerous both emotionally and physically."

"I wanted a software that could really 'diagnose' a person's true sexual identity, to help weed out 'choke and slap' self-proclaimers and be left with a group of users who are exactly what the Kink score says they are."

UNLCKED’s state-of-the-art algorithm was developed alongside a leading sexologist, and reflects a modern take on psychology and sexology.

"The sign-up process is long for a reason. We are currently losing 50 per cent of our new sign-ups at the start of the Kink Quiz. Yes, 81 questions is long, but without it we would be just another app that matches two people based on genitalia alone," Lauren explains.

Image: UNLCKED.

"We're not a cookie-cutter app, we recognise how complex the human mind is. We accept women, men, nonbinary, singles, couples, straight and LGBTQIA+ from all walks of life and are damn proud of being different. If that means losing half of people at the door, bye Felicia!"

For the record, I signed up for the app to see what the process was like — and while lengthy, it wasn't difficult or cumbersome. If anything, I felt really safe that I was only going to be matched with people whose sexual desires aligned with my own. 

Oh, and for the record, you don't have to be kinky — there are questions to pair up people with more traditional (aka 'vanilla') desires, too!

Focus on safety.

UNLCKED is also the first social platform that is built on safety, with a three-step verification process to vet out bots and catfish. And while it might not be as quick as whipping up a dating profile on a lonely Friday night, the sign-up process — which includes taking a selfie and providing government-issued photo ID — made me feel safer than most platforms.

"The sole mission of the app is full transparency," explains Lauren. "Everyone is verified, and will continue to be re-verified." And while supplying identification does deter some people from signing up, I've got to wonder if those are the sorts of folks I'd want to meet up with anyway? 

When I did match with and go on a date with someone (after my profile was verified), I genuinely felt safe knowing that he was who he said he was, that we were both there for the same reason, looking for similar things. 

While I met my date for a coffee, Lauren is also aware some people want to get straight to the 'playing' part (nothing wrong with that!) — and to make that experience safer, there's a feature allowing users to register their playdates, which is exactly why the verification is so important. 

If you register a playdate, Lauren explains, UNLCKED sends a message that notifies the other party and basically reminds them to have fun on your playdate, but know that we work closely with law enforcement authorities and if you don't surface the next day, all their details will be passed on.

"It's full transparency, or it's nothing," she adds. 

All the safety features Lauren has put in place are for one (very important) reason: to make UNLCKED a community where users of all sexualities and desires (within the law) feel safe and welcome; a place where everyone feels accepted just as they are.

Download UNLCKED now, and see which of the 26 kink categories you fall under.

Feature Image: Getty.