Home › App
Hornet
IndependentBest for a queer social network with cheap entry
Hornet is a community-first gay app with cheap entry, undercut by unconfirmed encryption and weak password handling.
Key facts
Owner: Independent (no parent company on record).
Free tier: Hornet's free tier is rated Usable; you can message your matches without paying.
Cost: The cheapest premium tier costs $7.99/mo in the US.
App Store rating: On the Apple App Store, Hornet holds 3.84 out of 5 from 3,144 ratings. source
Safety: No cited data-breach incidents are on record for Hornet.
Hornet frames itself as a queer social network with dating attached rather than a pure hookup grid, leaning on a community feed and sexual-health resources. Much of it is usable for free, with Plus starting cheaply.
Be aware of the privacy caveats. An independent review could not confirm that Hornet encrypts your chats, and it noted the app accepted a trivially weak password at login. There is no cited breach, but those are real weaknesses.
Take the security caveats as a routing signal. A reviewer got in using the password 123456, so if you do use Hornet, set a strong, unique password you don't reuse elsewhere. And because independent testers could not confirm it encrypts your chats, anyone in a sensitive or unsafe situation is better served by Scruff, which pairs community features with ILGA travel alerts.
US position: Leading global gay social network/dating app; no verified US-specific ranking [src]
Pricing (US)
| Tier | Per month | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Premium | — | App Store IAP range $9.99-$39.99; Premium up to $39.99; 3-month at $21.99; monthly Premium not separately confirmed [src] |
| Plus | 7.99 USD | Entry paid tier from ~$7.99/mo depending on billing length/promotions [src] |
Cheapest premium floor (cost-to-connect): $7.99/mo
Free tier
- Message matches for free: Yes
- Free likes/day: not capped / unknown
- Paywalled: unlimited profile viewing, advanced filters, ad-free, profile boost, who-viewed-me
Safety & privacy
| Photo verification | — |
|---|---|
| Screenshot blocking | Yes |
| Incognito mode | — |
| Encryption notes | Mozilla could not confirm whether Hornet encrypts chats/personal data; app allowed weak password '123456' at login. |
Breach & privacy ledger
No cited data-breach incidents on record.
Feature matrix
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| hiv_status_sharing | Health/HIV status field and 'Know Your Status' resources [src] |
| social_feed | Community Stories/social feed beyond one-to-one dating [src] |
| location_discovery | Location-based grid discovery of nearby users [src] |
Screenshots
© Queer Networks Inc., via the Apple App Store listing — editorial/nominative review use
Frequently asked questions
Is Hornet free to use?
Hornet's free tier is rated Usable; you can message your matches without paying. Paid features include unlimited profile viewing, advanced filters, ad-free, profile boost, who-viewed-me.
How much does Hornet cost in the US?
The cheapest premium tier costs $7.99/mo in the US. That is the lowest effective monthly rate, usually on a longer plan; single-month plans cost more.
Who owns Hornet?
Hornet is owned by Independent (no parent company on record). That makes it one of the few apps here with no parent conglomerate.
Has Hornet had a data breach?
No cited data-breach incidents are on record for Hornet.
What is Hornet's App Store rating?
On the Apple App Store, Hornet holds 3.84 out of 5 from 3,144 ratings.