If swiping for love has met with success (and indeed, no matter how infrequently, it most certainly has), it seems that applying the same practice to other sorts of relationships ought to result in happy endings, too. That is the hope behind new app Hey! Vina, described as “your favorite app for women’s friendship.”
When you swipe right in Hey! Vina, you won’t be in for a potential date — rather, you’ll have the opportunity to “meet new friends, join communities of people like you … and read awesome articles about living your best life.” So if you’re new in town, you may be able to say “hey” to a new friend circle with Hey! Vina.
While the app isn’t exactly new (it actually first came into existence last January), its global launch didn’t take place until September 2016, and at that point, it was only available for iOS. But now, the app can now be downloaded by folks with Android phones as well.
The premise is similar to that of most dating apps: you need a Facebook account in order to register, allowing you to check out potential “matches” (which is to say, gal pals) based on mutual friends or interests. From there, you’ll fill out a profile, and like any other matching app, the more information you provide, the better your chances of being paired with someone with whom you might actually be compatible.
Perhaps the best part of Hey! Vina is that it is solely dedicated to forming friendships. At least, insofar as this is a female-only platform. “Part of that is so that it doesn’t turn into a dating app,” Olivia Poole, one of the founders of Hey! Vina, told Engadget. “When you put men and women onto a platform to meet, it can very easily and organically turn into a
Hey! Vina claims that it was downloaded 100,000 times in the first week of its availability on iOS, and has received more than 500,000 requests for an Android version (which it has now honored). Apparently, more than 1 million potential friendships have been set up across 158 countries. The Android version will be complete with an account dashboard that lets users see social stats, create friend lists, take quizzes, and manage community memberships. Group messaging will also be available.
Update: Hey! Vina is now available for Android as well.