Enter: me, a queer person who’s never quite fit neatly into any one box. The whole idea of online dating always felt a little intimidating, particularly when I don’t easily fit into predefined categories. Yet, I was willing to try out an app to connect with the community.
I found and liked the LGBTQ+ dating app, Taimi, specifically for its use of artificial intelligence in support of community, depth and user safety. The idea of scrolling through profiles and picking from rigid options felt limiting, but this felt like only a small step outside my comfort zone.
Generative AI supporting technology — in support of humans. I could work with that. Okay, let’s begin.
What is Taimi, and how does it use AI?
Taimi initially launched under the name “TameMe,” founded by Alex Pasykov, who also founded Hily, a dating app for straight singles. While straight, Alex is known for outspoken allyship and received the Gay Times Honours Community Entrepreneurship Award in 2020 for his efforts to support LGBTQ+ folks (specifically during the COVID-19 pandemic). At the time of writing, Taimi has over 25 million users across 138 countries.
Taimi uses AI in three key areas: its matching algorithm, safety and moderation, and its feedback loop. This is to provide its users with maximized compatibility outcomes and deliver tailored suggestions over time.
I appreciate Taimi’s use of AI to help shift matching away from pairing based on age, gender and location and instead focus on relationship building from your profile’s personality. It’s pretty community-focused, steering away from casual swiping and toward purposeful connections.
How to use Taimi to connect with others
The Taimi home page.
Setting up an account on Taimi is pretty easy, and its AI features work in the background to provide you with a tailored algorithm — powered by AI and data signals from app activity — for matches.
- Download Taimi from the App Store or Google Play store.
- To set up your profile, add photos, a short bio and your preferences. This helps the algorithm learn your specific needs when searching for friends, dates or other members to digitally (and hopefully literally) connect with.
- The more you use Taimi, the smarter the algorithm gets at understanding your tastes and compatibility. So, as you swipe and message folks, your preferences are being assessed.
- Taimi’s AI will highlight profiles and groups it thinks you’d align with to help ease the overwhelm and connect with folks more likely to appreciate you and form actual connections. It will also feature smart recommendations that contain nearby events or meetups, and community spaces for creating and fostering healthy relationships.
- You’ll get the most out of Taimi by providing feedback about your experience — that includes liking, passing and blocking profiles — which allows the algorithm to evolve alongside your preferences and become more accurate over time.
As with any dating app, safety and privacy are key here, especially since the LGBTQ+ community is more vulnerable to discrimination. Taimi also uses AI-assisted content filtering to identify, report and remove key indicators of harm like harassment, suspicious profiles, hate speech and inappropriate messages.
For example, I could not screenshot or utilize a workaround photo-taking software within Taimi — even for tabs that didn’t contain sensitive information — to showcase how the app works. While annoying at the moment, I’m proud of Taimi for diligently keeping information private throughout its user experience.
Should you use Taimi?
Taimi is built for LGBTQ+ folks who want AI-powered matching and strong moderation to help keep things real and respectful, which matters when you want meaningful interactions online. It’s also built for a lot more than dating, which can be an easy entry for folks who are wary of dating apps or the pressure to find solely romantic connections through them.
What comes in each Taimi subscription.
I see Taimi as great for people who want to experiment and figure out how to use the platform for their unique goals. Relationships from dating apps don’t always happen overnight, so being flexible about outcomes can make the whole experience way more rewarding.
You can access most of its features on its free plan, so there’s also not much commitment on the app’s side. (Maybe Taimi’s keeping that for the actual connections happening within the app.)
Now, if you’re only into quick hookups or want a super niche dating pool, Taimi’s broader social and advocacy vibe might not be your best option, as it’s designed for diversity and connection within the LGBTQ+ community.
It’s also fair to mention that you shouldn’t expect to open the app and immediately walk away with a partnership; meaningful relationships take time, both online and off.
But like anything else, I am a strong advocate for trying it out before you buy it, and see how you find yourself engaging with others on the platform. Having millions of users is impressive, but what matters is if it works for you.
Enjoy your time and happy pride.
