Happy birthday! You’re 10 years old this month, which in the world of tech is quite an achievement. A decade ago you started out in your purple-and-white phase, bold and a little awkward, trying to figure out who you were. Your socials were filled with cheeky memes, your humour was unfiltered, and your voice was deliberately playful. It wasn’t always polished, but it was authentic – and people noticed. For all your quirks, you were unapologetically yourself.
It hasn’t all been easy. In the early years, you were sometimes seen as “sleazier” than you really were. Being upfront about casual dating meant carrying a stigma that others avoided by wrapping themselves in softer language. That label didn’t reflect your purpose, but it did challenge you to prove that casual dating could be safe, fun, and respectful. Those moments shaped your resilience and kept you focussed on building something that would last.
You’ve also grown up. The rebrand in 2023 was your big turning point, a moment where you pulled everything together into one clear identity. Shifting from purple to the happy new pink-and-orange gradient felt risky, and plenty of people had opinions. Some thought it made you softer, but that was exactly the point. You wanted to create a safer, more welcoming space for women, and your new look reflected that. It wasn’t just about colours. It was about maturing, aligning your design, product, and voice so you could step confidently into the next stage of your life.
What we love most is that you never lost your humour, your self-awareness, or your sense of joy. You kept experimenting with campaigns, even when advertisers pushed back harder on you than almost anyone else. You learned to create clever, playful work that stood out while staying true to your values. That determination to find a way forward, even when doors closed, is what carried you through the tricky parts.
Now, at 10 years old, you stand taller. You are still cheeky, still honest, still upfront, but you carry yourself with a confidence that comes from experience. You’ve shown that even fleeting connections can be meaningful. You’ve created a space where people can be themselves, and you’ve helped shift the wider conversation toward sex-positivity, openness, and consent.
So here’s to you, HUD App. Here’s to your purple-and-white beginnings, to your bold rebrand, to the campaigns that made people laugh, and to the users who found connections because of you. And here’s to the next decade of growing, evolving, and proving that honesty and joy belong at the heart of dating.
Your team xo
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The HUD Love Club
Are “wellness dates” the new candlelit dinner?
Skip the small talk over soggy fries and take your date up a mountain instead. Wellness dates are in, and you might just meet your match (and your step goal).
