 "Millions in India are on this 'extramarital-only dating app' - what’s really going on?")
In a development that has stirred conversations about modern relationships, Gleeden - a dating app explicitly designed for extramarital affairs - has reportedly millions of active users in India, signaling a dramatic shift in how couples in the country view intimacy and companionship outside of traditional marriage.
“Whether you are looking for an affair in your area or a lover miles away from you while on a trip,” reads the app’s description - a line that openly reflects the platform’s unapologetic focus on extramarital relationships and normalizing “non-monogamy.”
What is Gleeden?
Gleeden is an extramarital dating platform made by women, originally developed in France and marketed as a space for people in committed relationships or marriages to find discreet emotional or romantic connections outside those bonds.
Unlike mainstream dating apps that cater to broader audiences, the platform’s core identity revolves around facilitating extramarital or discreet interactions between consenting adults.
The app has grown rapidly in India - Gleeden claims a 270 % surge in its user base in 2024 and crossing the three million mark - a remarkable milestone in just a few years of operations in the country!
‘Non-monogamy is being socially accepted in India,’ says Gleeden’s survey
While monogamy has always been the idea, a survey conducted by Gleeden in association with IPSOS states otherwise.
A whopping 69% of the 1,510 survey respondents said they believe there is increasing societal acceptance of open relationships in India.
Tier-1 cities Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kolkata, and Ahmedabad lead the way!
Delhi ranks highest by having 80% of respondents claiming increasing acceptance, while only 15% stated that monogamy was their only relationship structure. Mumbai ranks second as most progressive with 69% of respondents in favour of growing acceptance; however, 26% of its respondents prefer to remain in traditional relationship structures.
Bengaluru has a similar level of acceptance at 70%; however, Hyderabad is progressing at a slower pace with 58% of respondents acknowledging increasing acceptance and 28% stating they prefer monogamy. Kolkata ranks somewhat in the middle with 65% of respondents indicating they see more acceptance and 30% confirming they still prefer monogamy.
Ahmedabad also ranks as a city that is seeing significant change in attitude as 68% of respondents indicate increased acceptance of alternative relationships, while 21% of respondents continue to hold monogamous relationships as their only relationship structure.
Quick Reads
View AllTier-2 cities Jaipur, Ludhiana, Patna, Kochi, Guwahati, and Indore record a much higher level of openness!
Guwahati leading all of India as the most progressive city in terms of openness to non-monogamous relationships at 86% (14% believe non-monogamous relationships will eventually be entirely accepted by society). Jaipur also ranked highly at 77% acceptance, while Ludhiana came in at 74%.
While many consider Patna conservatively-minded, it is important to note that 65% of respondents reported an increasing openness to non-monogamous relationships.
Kochi was reported to have a relatively balanced opinion, with 63% of respondents indicating that they believe acceptance of non-monogamous relationships is increasing and 30% favoring monogamous relationships.
In contrast, Indore was considered to be the most traditionally-minded of all the cities, with only 56% of respondents stating there is an increased acceptance of non-monogamous relationships and 37% maintaining a favoring of monogamous relationships.
Does this signal a change? Here’s what a psychologist says
Ms. Rashi Trehan, a counselling psychologist and registered Dance Movement Psychotherapist in Delhi, says that from a psychological and sociocultural perspective, “it is important to distinguish between extramarital affairs, consensual non-monogamy, and digital visibility. There are three different phenomena often conflated in such discussions.”
According to her “affairs are not new to Indian society. What has changed is access, anonymity, and language.”
She says that historically, the idea of India as uniformly monogamous and sexually conservative is shaped largely by colonial morality. Pre-colonial South Asian cultures had diverse relational forms that were later moralised and erased.
Today’s dating apps do not necessarily reflect a moral shift but rather provide discreet avenues for desires that were always present but previously hidden.
“I believe extramarital relationships should not be equated with non-monogamy. Ethical non-monogamy is based on consent, transparency, and mutual agreement, whereas affairs involve secrecy and rupture of existing relational contracts. Many users of such platforms are not rejecting monogamy as a value; instead, they are navigating emotional neglect, sexual dissatisfaction, loneliness, or power imbalances within marriages - often without safe spaces to renegotiate these needs openly,” says the expert.
City-wise differences also need careful interpretation. “Higher reported openness in Tier-2 cities may not indicate liberalization, but rather pressure without permission,” says Trehan.
She further adds “smaller cities often have stronger family surveillance, fewer exit options such as divorce, and limited access to psychotherapy or relationship education. In such contexts, discreet digital platforms can function as coping mechanisms rather than ideological choices. In contrast, Tier-1 cities may show more visible resistance or debate precisely because alternatives exist.”
An intersectional lens also highlights gendered realities. “Men’s infidelity has historically been more tolerated, while women’s desire has been silenced or moralized. The rise of women-targeted platforms may reflect not moral decline, but a constrained reclaiming of agency within structurally unequal marriages,” states the psychologist.
“Ultimately, these trends speak less about increasing acceptance of non-monogamy and more about unmet emotional needs, communication breakdowns, and marriages structured around duty rather than intimacy. India may not be becoming more unfaithful but it is becoming more honest about desire, dissatisfaction, and relational strain,” she concludes.
We asked people how ’extramarital dating’ sounds to them
It is an open secret that infidelity is on the rise, said an NCR-based mid-level corporate executive.
The executive, who requested to be anonymous, said extramarital affairs play out almost openly in conference and corporate retreats, so it’s not that apps like Gleeden are doing something new.
What Gleeden does is merely institutionalize infidelity and give a platform to seek affairs, said the executive.
“Gleeden is like Uber for infidelity. Just like Uber brought taxi services to mobile phones even as taxis had existed for decades, Gleeden has digitised infidelity even though infidelity has existed for ages. Just like Rapido or Ola joined the fray later, we may have more such apps if Gleeden actually becomes successful. With almost every person knowing a story of infidelity in their immediate social circles, it’s only natural that people would go digital to find partners for their affairs. It’s the digital era. There is only so long that affairs would remain offline,” said the executive.
A 27-year-old working professional from Gurugram wonders where’s the nation heading. “The app says ‘discreet encounters’ but calls itself a platform for ’ethical non-monogamy’. That’s where the problem is - if it’s ethical according to them, why offer discreet services and state ‘your secrets are safe with us’?” she says.
Many people who spoke to Firstpost are confused about ethical and moral aspects of this because, as one person put it, “this app is basically promoting cheating.” “Earlier you had to make an effort to find discreet partners for affair, but now with this app, it’s basically bringing potentials at your doorstep. It’s like previously buying a gun from a gun store has now turned into gun being delivered at your doorstep discreetly.”
Another one shared, “It seems like the app’s entire business model is charging users a fee to help them cheat on their spouses. If someone gets caught, could the app be considered equally responsible - essentially a partner in the wrongdoing?”
Unnati, a fellow journalist, shares, “I don’t think Indian society is ready to accept the system Gleeden operates on, at least not in this generation. In India, an extramarital affair is still considered outright cheating. Even in open relationships, social acceptance remains far off. People are unlikely to talk about it publicly without facing judgment or shame. In fact, our society is still not open to dating apps. Out of 10 people, 8 will roll their eyes as soon as you tell them you find your partner on such apps. So, I am unable to fathom how an extramarital app can work in India.”
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