We’ve got the low down on the top 5 best gay apps in Ireland for dating in 2016

Ever wonder where people are meeting gay guys? Is it through friends, or in clubs, or maybe online? One of the most popular ways for meeting gay men is by using one of the gay apps available in Ireland for your smartphone.

When Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone in 2007 and redefined the smartphone, not even he could have anticipated the massive change the technology would have on our lives.

GPS tracking, big LCD screens and faster cellular data connections – the perfect storm of technologies at our fingertips which paved the way making location based dating apps a reality. Nine years later, let’s take a look at some of the best gay apps in Ireland for dating.

1. Grindr

First up is Grindr. This app, which was first released in 2009, provides gay men the opportunity to meet in an instant, for friendship, dates and hook ups.

It’s probably the best known gay app in Ireland since it has recently come under the public eye in Ireland for potentially facilitating trainee priests in breaking the celibate lifestyle they have chosen at Maynooth’s seminary.

Although the basic premise of Grindr is much the same as it was in 2009 (you see gay men based on their proximity to your location) the interface has changed to prioritise images over details about the person you’re chatting to.

This is evident in the larger profile images on the app’s home screen and the evolution of a swipe interface required to see more of a guy’s stats and information when you tap into their profile.

Tribes are another addition to the continually evolving Grindr. You can add a tribe to your profile which lets you show which subset of gay culture you most connect with.

Up next, Surge.

2. Surge

Next up is Surge. Surge takes it’s place among the best gay apps as the fastest growing gay social network.

Internet star Davey Wavey talks to singer Steve Grand at the 3:28 mark about some of it’s distinguishing features in this video saying it’s “kind of like gay Tinder but with Snapchat features […] and unlike Grindr it doesn’t have the spammy bots.”

“And right now it’s actually the number two gay dating app behind Grindr, and it has five stars which Grindr definitely does not.” (Grindr actually has 1.5 stars on the iOS App Store!)

For acronyms, language, etiquette tips and of course saucy pics of the hunky Steve Grand the rest of the video is definitely worth a watch.

Up next, Scruff.

3. Scruff

Next up in our list of the best gay apps in Ireland for dating in 2016 is Scruff.

Scruff came along in 2010, and while it has several features for locals like the tiled style interface that Grindr sports, Scruff match (a matchmaking service that allows you to swipe left or right to approve or disapprove a potential match), it’s main selling point is ‘Gay Guys Worldwide’.

The app offers several useful features for meeting up with over 10 million gay guys when travelling, like Scruff Venture which allows you to set your travel dates and destination if going abroad, as well as filtering by guys who are travelling in your location.

Scruff also has gay-owned room listings available for rent which allows you to link your Airbnb or MisterBandB listing to your Scruff profile, or view listings for rent from gay guys across the world. Handy!

Up next, RECON.

4. RECON

RECON is the best gay app in Ireland for the fetish lover. ‘Gay Fetish Profiles For Men,’ the Recon website proclaims, with the image of the inked, rubber loving, chain adorned, kneepad wearing man above dominating their home screen.

Besides the number of RECON members online now being shown on the website (46,576 by the way), the fetish app tells visitors to ‘Enter RECON and start mastering your fetish evolution. Gay men into leather rubber BDSM and kink.’

The app allows you to connect with more than a million RECON guys globally, and states that there are 20,000 men online each night.

If fetish is something that gets you going, then this is definitely one of the gay apps you need to check out.