Gay dating app Archer is shutting down, but when?

Archer, the gay dating app launched by Match Group during Pride Month 2023, is shutting down just three years later.

Michael Kaye, the app's director of brand marketing and communications, announced the end of Archer in May, soon after the parent company announced a $100 million investment in Sniffies, a gay hookup app.

"We're incredibly proud of what we built with ARCHER and grateful to the community, partners, and supporters who helped make it possible," Kaye told Mashable in an emailed statement. "While ARCHER will be winding down, we're thankful for the impact it had and the connections it fostered over the years."

Archer sought to make gay dating more intentional, focusing more on building relationships than finding flings. In 2024, TechCrunch reported that Archer had been downloaded over 685,000 times within a year of its debut. But Grindr, arguably the most well-known gay hookup app, was downloaded 10 million times in the year preceding TechCrunch's reporting. As Mashable states in our gay dating app roundup, Grindr is still king.

In recent years, however, users have complained that Grindr is paywalling its best features and that its interface is buggy. Competitors have popped up, including Archer, and also Sniffies, Scruff, and Jack'd. The cruising site Squirt, which pre-dated Grindr, just launched an app this April.

Now, it appears that at least in the gay dating space, Match Group will focus on Sniffies.

"We look forward to partnering with Sniffies to continue fostering meaningful queer connections and building for the future of the community," Kaye stated.

Archer will officially shut down on June 17.