Hornet app review: the social network for gays

Hornet

Price: Free

Hornet by Hornet Networks Limited is supposedly the app that Grindr should have been – an app for gay, bi, and curious guys to use to meet each other. June is gay and lesbian pride month, so show your pride! The app requires 16.2MB of storage space and is available in 13 different languages.

User Experience
According to the iTunes page and download agreement, you must be 17 or older to use Hornet, but when you launch the app, the Terms of Service say you are at least 18 years of age or older.

When you first launch the app, if you grant it access to your location, you’ll be taken to a screen where you’ll see all the men in your area. A green dot shows in the top left corner of the person’s photo if he is online. When you click on an image, you’re taken to his profile. From there, you can send a sticker, mark him as a Favorite, write a note, send the profile to a friend, or send a message.

Features
Features of the app include the ability to create a profile, upload photos, and meet gay and bi guys in your area. You can see profiles with multiple photos, use the Explore feature to see what guys are in an area where you might visit, send a hello with the HEART feature, and get a push notification when someone sends you a heart or a message. You can filter through the type of person you like, forward profiles to friends, and use the Notes feature. There’s also a Know Your Status feature that lets you share your HIV status and even reminds you when to get tested.

In-App Purchases
You can use the app for free but there are some features to which you won’t have access. You can buy the Premium subscription in a monthly fashion for $7.99, for seven days for $4.99, for one month for $8.99, for three months for $21.99, or one year for $59.99. You can also buy a Kiss, Handcuffs, Cocktail, or Happy Smiley for $0.99 each. 

If you pick the subscription option it will automatically renew, so if you want to cancel, make sure you do so at least 24 hours before the end of the term.

Update Info
Hornet was updated to Version 1.8.6 on May 21, 2013. The update added the ability to send stickers to any Horneter you want.

Customer Ratings and Feedback Comments
The current version of Hornet has 131 customer ratings with an average of four out of five stars. Feedback comments are positive, with some complaints of the app being slow and laggy, with random crashes.

Personal Comments by Reviewer
Seeing how I’m not a gay, bi, or curious male it’s kind of hard for me to offer an actual review of this app but on the surface it appears pretty good. It’s easy to navigate, well laid-out, and full of features. The app didn’t crash while I was checking it out.

Pros

• Works well
• Lots of features
• Great community to meet gay, bi, and curious men

Cons

• Some users experience lags and crashes

For: iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPod touch (3rd generation), iPod touch (4th generation), iPod touch (5th generation) and iPad with iOS 6.0 or later. Hornet is optimized for iPhone 5.

Hornet by Hornet Networks Limited

User Experience

Features