GayRomeo becomes PlanetRomeo becomes ROMEO – What’s behind the double rebranding?
GayRomeo has evolved significantly over the past two decades and became known as PlanetRomeo . Since the summer, the now completely mobile dating platform for gays has been called simply ROMEO .
According to the company, the new ROMEO
on the way from the dating platform GayRomeo, which is extremely popular in the LGBTQ+ scene , to the dating app we see today. And that wasn't always without criticism from the gay community . Sometimes there were big outcries and numerous shitstorms. The community felt ignored and their needs were not taken into account.
So is ROMEO really the better GayRomeo?”
We dare to analyze.
Origin and early development of GayRomeo: How it all began
The online portal was launched in October 2002 and has been operated by the Amsterdam company Romeo BV since September 2006.
GayRomeo quickly became one of the largest and most well-known online platforms for the gay community.
Importance and spread of GayRomeo in the gay community
The majority of users came from German-speaking countries. Due to the large number of members, GayRomeo was sometimes referred to as the "gay registration office" or the "Blue Pages" , in reference to the business directory and the dominant colors on the website.
GayRomeo attracted people from all social and professional backgrounds. The daily newspaper (taz) expressed this caustically with the words: “The pink lists are back .
During the 2005 federal election campaign, Volker Beck, a member of the Bundestag for Alliance 90/The Greens, took advantage of the opportunity to hold virtual public consultation hours on GayRomeo .
The time spent on GayRomeo was noticeably higher than on other online communities. According to a GfK study, the average monthly usage time in 2010 was around twelve hours.
“gayromeo old design” are still made via Google every month. Many years later!
The role of the PlanetRomeo Foundation
The PlanetRomeo Foundation , founded in 2009 and a charitable foundation under Dutch law, specializes in international gay rights .
The purpose of this foundation is to enable PlanetRomeo BV to donate funds to foreign organizations more easily. This eliminates the need for renewed recognition of non-profit status in the Netherlands.
In addition, PlanetRomeo BV calls on its users to contribute their own donations. According to official reports, the BV provided the foundation with a total of 60,000 euros in 2011 and 2012.
From GayRomeo to PlanetRomeo: A new era begins
In the course of internationalization , GayRomeo was gradually PlanetRomeo , as some countries block domains containing the word “gay” .
To solve this problem, the more neutral name PlanetRomeo was chosen.
At this point, the platform had developed into an important virtual place where people of the same orientation from all over the world can network with one another. By creating a profile on the site, users can openly disclose their sexual orientation and find like-minded people.
With the introduction of the app version, it became even easier for users to connect with others on the go. The importance of GayRomeo to the LGBT+ community cannot be underestimated - it has brought many people together.
Image source: Freepik
Big outcry in the gay community after the Classic platform was switched off
In 2019, GayRomeo finally deactivated its old Classic platform , which caused great dissatisfaction among many members. As a result, there were numerous critical comments and voices.
Even before, there was always dissatisfaction among members when changes were made to the platform or its terms and conditions, as Queer.de reported:
Background: In mid-September 2011, Romeo asked its existing users to agree to new terms of use when logging in.
These new “Terms and Conditions” and the accompanying “Privacy Policy” were written solely in English. After controversial discussions and protests from German-speaking users, the operator responded on September 23rd with a revised version of the terms and conditions, which no longer contained the controversial clause regarding the transfer of usage rights to user-created content to the operator.
, the sections on the vague ban on violations of “morality or public order” and the blanket ban on consensual sado/maso practices ( “physical harm” ) remained unchanged.
The new version of the site, which was supposedly more modern, initially did not receive the expected approval and acceptance from users.
The ensuing shitstorm in the gay community was enormous and continued even weeks later.
There was even a petition called “No Classic Romeo Shut Down” on change.org that nearly 1,000 members signed.
Although there was some controversy surrounding the name change, it does not appear to have had a lasting impact on the platform's image. ROMEO remains an important destination for gays in the online dating world and will continue to make further developments in the future to provide its users with a great dating experience.
Image source: Freepik
What were the reasons behind the shutdown of the classic GayRomeo?
Jens Schmidt , the founder of Gayromeo , explained in an interview with Victory Column that the decision was made in response to the changing behavior of users.
More and more members visited the website via their smartphones. However, the Classic platform was not designed for this use and a Planetromeo app ultimately failed to establish itself in the App Store.
So a new mobile website should solve all problems. However, it turned out that this attempt was not without criticism. also a lively discussion on Gay.de about the shutdown of the old platform.
Romeo founder Jens Schmidt fears that around 25 percent of members were dissatisfied with the new PlanetRomeo platform.
The international triumph of the gay dating app
the great popularity of the online platform exclusively dedicated homosexual people This is also reflected in the strong international growth in membership numbers.
look for dates, relationships and sexual adventures
Italy, India, France and the Philippines rank second to fourth in terms of the number of users on the dating platform.
Although PlanetRomeo does not conduct targeted international marketing, the platform is very popular worldwide.
To further its internationalization, the company also acquired the gay platform Guys4Men and merged its members with PlanetRomeo. According to the developers, this led to an increase of 380,000 members.
Overall, it is now possible to use PlanetRomeo on these continents:
- Europe
- Asia
- North and South America
- Africa
- the Middle East
- Australia/Oceania
PlanetRomeo's efforts and strategic direction to network the homosexual community more effectively worldwide were crowned with success.
Mobile app for Android smartphones, iPhones and Apple's smartwatch
During this phase of PlanetRomeo, the website, which was previously purely desktop-based, was redesigned to mobile-friendly . In addition, an app version was developed and released Apple and Google Play stores
The Amsterdam company expanded its dating offering for gay men in 2015 with an app for the new Apple Watch.
A press release from the company said at the time:
The gay community is considered a pioneer in the use of new technologies and will be a good indicator of whether Apple can start another lifestyle revolution.”
With the help of this app, users could easily view profiles, chat and plan dates on the go using their Apple Watch.
Dealing with criticism and feedback from the user community
One of the biggest changes for GayRomeo's user community was undoubtedly the name change to PlanetRomeo.
This decision was met with criticism from many users and led to controversial discussions within the community. But how did the company deal with this criticism?
ROMEO relied on an open dialogue with users and took their feedback to heart. Through regular updates and improvements, ROMEO has been able to better meet the needs of its users and convince many critics.
The reviews in the app store, which were used by ROMEO to further optimize their product, also played an important role.
This led to a close collaboration between platform operators and users, which ultimately led to PlanetRomeo still one of the most important dating sites for gay men .
Reasons for another name change: Why did PlanetRomeo become ROMEO?
The platform was an important part of the LGBT+ community, but with its success came criticism. Some users found the name “PlanetRomeo” stigmatizing and not inclusive enough.
Therefore, in 2017, as part of its focus on the smartphone app, the team behind the platform decided to make another name change and PlanetRomeo became ROMEO .
The name “ROMEO” was already used by most people for the platform and the smartphone applications had this shortened name from the beginning.
The new name stands for openness, inclusiveness and diversity within the community. The change to the new name was welcomed by many users.
New design and functions of the ROMEO apps
With the launch of the ROMEO Apps, not only was the name of the platform changed, but the design and some functions were also renewed. The new version offers users an improved user experience and easier navigation on the site.
© ROMEO
The new design is more modern and user-friendly, which is especially true for the app version. There are now more personal profile options and the dating experience has been optimized.
The chat service has also been revised and now makes it easier to get to know other users.
Although many users were initially skeptical, the new version quickly proved its worth and received positive reviews from the community.
Why not just the app?
The providers have since been very successful with their ROMEO app for iOS and Android. The vast majority of new users find the contact exchange in the app stores and register there.
Since almost all competitors are only available as an app, the question arises as to why ROMEO still needs a website at all.
At ROMEO, the providers do not view the website as a luxury or tradition, but rather as a safety net for their long-term independence and sustainable success.
The apps rely heavily on Google and Apple. Similar to other gay dating app providers, ROMEO has had many unpleasant experiences in the past.
There are millions of sexy photos in the gay dating space - which is an important part of gay dating .
Rules about censoring “sexually suggestive content” simply don’t fit in well. According to the operators of ROMEO, the sword of Damocles is constantly hanging over them.
Currently, usage is fairly evenly distributed between app and web – this protects dating on ROMEO . Users are completely free to choose which platform they prefer.
Ads goodbye – Romeo PLUS is introduced
The last substantial change in the use of ROMEO to date is the operator's decision to change paid subscription version
All basic functions of the portal were available without restrictions and free of charge for a period of more than 20 years.
With the paid “Romeo PLUS” , users received some additional features, such as viewing publicly available nude photos in other members' profiles, unlimited storage space for images and messages, the ability to be invisible online or to save self-written text modules.
In May 2023, Romeo increased the fees for “PLUS” and at the same time significantly restricted the free use of the portal.
Since then, users without a “PLUS” membership can only use a very limited version of searching for other users and browsing profiles.
Members have the choice between three different periods of use. The PLUS membership can be taken out for 1, 3 or 12 months. A one-month membership costs EUR 8.99 per month. For a three-month PLUS membership, the monthly price is EUR 6.99 or you can pay a total of EUR 20.97.
