Bang With Friends Debuts Same-Sex Option, But Questions Remain

As promised, controversial app Bang With Friends unveiled an option for users to bed members of the same sex, after it received criticism for catering exclusively to heterosexuals.

"We've had extraordinary feedback and requests to bring this to the gay community," C, one of the app's three California-based co-founders told Mashable over the phone. (The 20-something men have chosen to remain anonymous for the time being.) He added that they received over 1,000 emails requesting the feature.

Bang With Friends, which anonymously hooks users up with their Facebook friends, claims to have seen 235,000 sign-ups, and matched over 15,500 couples, since its controversial launch last week.

But despite this success — which inspired a media frenzy and copycat site — questions remain about the app's viability and future.

Moral outrage has brewed over Bang With Friends' frank attempt to simplify sexual interaction, with one Facebook user commenting on Mashable's post about the app:

Sad state when an app for this exists, as well as when it is well received. This is evidence of the rapid decline in the marriage rate and marriage quality these days. Relationships in general are difficult. But now people have this to turn to.

C dismissed people who hold this view as "prudes."

"This is just how people really are in real life. We should just be more honest in sexuality, and what we are looking for," he said.

"This is just how people really are in real life. We should just be more honest in sexuality, and what we are looking for," he said.

But this perspective of Bang With Friends as Frat-boy-esque and low-brow may prove damaging, potentially making it difficult for the app to appeal to mainstream advertisers, as well as a female audience.

While the creators are "not too focused on monetization yet" — instead putting their energy into expansion — C said they are addressing the anticipated gender imbalance by customizing messaging based on gender and sexual orientation, and making it less aggressive. "We definitely have changes coming up that are going to try to appeal to all types of users instead of just our demographic."

Still, he added, "The site is very much a creation of our humor and our personalities. We don't think we should hide that."

What Bang With Friends can't prevent, however, is the lack of anonymity prospective users face when signing up for its Facebook app. A pop-up window identifies other friends that have signed up.

"We do everything we can to keep it discreet for the user," C said, adding that all Facebook apps have the same issue. "There's not much we can do other than petition [Facebook]."

As for its expansion to include same-sex selection, Bang With Friends is entering a market already saturated by established apps that help gay men and women find lovers, including Grindr, Blendr, Qrushr, Scruff and Manhunt. What then, will make the company stand out?

It's a "safe, friends-with-benefits option," C said, adding that Bang With Friends hooks users up with people they are already familiar with. "[We're] doing it in a lightweight way, not as forceful as Grindr can come across to a lot of people."

What challenges do you think Bang With Friends will face? How do you think the company should address them? Discuss in the comments below.

Thumbnail courtesy of Flickr, Nat Nunn; top image courtesy of Bang With Friends; bottom image courtesy of Jonathan Moyal