App of the Week: Vanilla Umbrella

There is a quirky new exclusive community emerging, where open minded people can meet and network. They call it Vanilla Umbrella. The 21st century seems to be all about speed. Speed of information, speed of communication and, why not, speed of dating. But Vanilla Umbrella asks us to stop. Look around. Spend time getting to know the person we share intimacy with. They want to be different in a market where everything gets so covered in dirt. An interesting vision to say the least. So what is this Vanilla Umbrella? It’s a mobile app for iOS and Android, they call it a vanilla networking and dating app for open minded people.

Open to singles or couples, looking to make friends with like-minded individuals, network or date. They also accommodate swingers and any other open minded people’s needs. The app has been available to the public for a little over two months and currently has around 44% women, which, for this type of app, is a lot! They must be doing something right. Perhaps it’s because the founders are very strict about the behaviour on the app and the support team is there with a virtual whip to punish, block and ban those who don’t play by the rules written in their policies.

The process to create an account on Vanilla Umbrella is an extension of this care and attention. They require you to register on a list to receive a unique invitation code. Only after you have it, you can create an account. They say that the giving of codes will eventually be stopped and joining the app will be possible via referral from existing users only. At first they weren’t sure how to make this happen, but knew it was something they believed in and was very much needed. The motivation for creating the app was set out by the creator of the project, as she described how she put together a team in London: “There was no decent online place for open minded people, as everything was so filthy and degrading. I strongly believe that, in the modern world, the freedom to be one’s self and not be embarrassed by it is essential and should be supported.

There are millions of people out there who still fear of being judged or are pointed at for who they are and what they like in their private lives. This applies especially to women so I, as a woman, understand their struggle.” The founders actually believe in respect and in putting the person before the superficial “values” of the 21st century, even though they chose to show this in a very modern way, by creating this very complex mobile app with so many features (they revealed their plans for even more!). Such commitment can only be admired in a world that seems so fickle at times.

Edith Zamora

Click here to visit the Vanilla Umbrella website.