The name ‘Bender’
The word Bender has an interesting history that goes back earlier than the 1300’s. Its originally related to other words that include to bond, bind, and band. From around 1728 like so many words it evolved to having more of a social meaning to it or even social bend. A drinking bout. Some historians think it may refer to the act of bending one’s elbow to take a drink.
Although during the last century it changed again to have more of a derogatory connotation towards gay people, in the 80’s International pop star Boy George embraced reclaiming it as a positive by referring to himself and others as Benders.
Reclamation is a very important part of our culture today, to take away something from the bullies. Laughing in the face of fear and to enjoy the original meaning of a fun word that has a deep history.
Who is the app aimed at?
Bender is designed for men seeking men, from the age of 18 upwards. We believe the app has features that will appeal to all ages and enhance the dating experience for everyone who uses it.
Is the app aimed at the whole LGBTQ community?
The app is designed for men seeking men. How each individual identifies themselves is up to them. The app does not ask anyone to provide their pronouns to avoid any suggestion of discrimination.
Is there a web-based access as well as the mobile app?
For the time being Bender is a mobile-only app as it is highly reliant on knowing a user’s location. A web-based version may be released at a future date.
Will the app have protection against bots and fake profiles?
Using the latest SMS authentication signup and login system will tweak out any fake profiles and bots. Also, administrators of the app have the ability to remove and monitor any unauthorised users.
How does Live Location enhance the user experience?
One of the app’s most innovative features is Live Location, where potential matches can be seen on a live map through advanced GPS. With security features built in, Live Location can be used for locating a date, tracking a meet, or just browsing to see who is out and about.
How is the app monetised?
One of our unique selling points at the time of the launch of the app is it is 100% ad-free. This is incredibly rare for commercial apps nowadays, but we felt ads only hindered user experience. This means that anyone can use the app for free. However, to access our premium features we offer four subscription models: Bender24, BenderMonthly, BenderThreeMonthly and Bender365. We believe our premium features are features many users will wish to pay for and offer good value.
How much will it cost to subscribe?
We have several subscription options available to subscribers. For anyone wishing a one-off access to Premium features we offer Bender24 for £1.99. This gives full access to the app for a full 24-hour period. The next subscription level is BenderMonthly which is charged at a cost of £9.99. BenderThreeMonthly is then charged at £21.99, and we also have an annual subscription which is available for £69.99 which we think is a good deal at 42% discount on the monthly cost.
