Ysos Bets on Revealed Preferences. Can It Outperform Match Group?
Key Points
- •Dating app Ysos is expanding into the United States market with three million registered global users, leveraging behavioural data from parent platform Sexlog.
- •Sexlog has analysed behavioural data from 23 million users since 2011 to power the AI-driven matching algorithms used by Ysos.
- •Industry-wide mobile customer acquisition costs for dating applications have increased by 40 to 60 percent since 2021, according to AppsFlyer data.
- •Parent company Mosaico Holdings operates Ysos alongside Sexlog for non-monogamous users and Pura Paixão for monogamous couples seeking relationship renewal.
Match Group executives spent the better part of 2024 explaining why users abandon dating apps: too much choice, not enough authenticity, the paradox of plenty. Gabriela Schuck has a different diagnosis. After a decade analysing behavioural data from 23 million users on Latin America's largest adult social network, she's concluded the industry is solving the wrong problem.
Schuck is now CMO of Ysos, a dating app spun out from Sexlog—Brazil's answer to FetLife—in 2018. The platform targets what she calls 'people who don't waste time': those seeking casual encounters, open relationships, and fetish-friendly connections. Ysos is now pushing into the US market with 3 million registered users globally, positioning itself as the data-driven alternative to mainstream platforms that, in Schuck's view, optimise for stated preferences rather than revealed behaviour.
The pitch is straightforward. Sexlog has operated since 2011 as an explicit adult social network where users share content, organise events, and connect around sexual interests. When Apple's App Store and Google Play policies made it impossible to distribute the full platform via mobile, the company's venture builder Mosaico Holdings created Ysos as an app-store-compliant dating layer. The result is a pipeline model: acquisition happens on the dating app, deeper engagement moves to the social network, and behavioural data flows back to refine matching algorithms.
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This is the adult industry's long game in dating technology—not the scammy affiliate plays or rebadged white labels, but a vertically integrated data operation with a decade of user behaviour insights that mainstream platforms will never collect. Whether Ysos can translate that advantage into US market traction is another question entirely. The gap between 3 million registered users and meaningful active user numbers matters, as does the reality that alternative relationship communities are notoriously difficult to monetise at scale.
The strategic thesis—that behavioural data from explicit contexts produces better matching than self-reported preferences—deserves attention from operators who've spent years chasing engagement metrics that correlate poorly with retention.
What users say vs what users do
According to Schuck, the core insight from Sexlog's user base is that stated preferences are 'largely decorative'. In an interview with Grit Daily, she explained that users routinely describe wanting emotional connection and long-term compatibility, then consistently engage with profiles and features optimised for immediacy and physical attraction. The company's AI-powered matching system, which Ysos describes as analysing interaction patterns rather than profile declarations, attempts to surface connections based on behavioural signals.
The approach mirrors academic research on stated versus revealed preferences in online dating, but it also raises the question every niche platform must answer: does solving for revealed behaviour produce better outcomes, or simply more efficient churn? Tinder's swipe mechanics optimised for speed. Engagement went up. So did complaints about superficiality.
Ysos claims its retention metrics outperform category averages, though the company hasn't disclosed specific figures. What's clearer is the business model. The platform operates on freemium subscriptions, with premium features including advanced search filters, profile visibility boosts, and access to community events—the same monetisation playbook every dating app has deployed since 2015.
The venture builder model and portfolio strategy
Mosaico Holdings, the parent company, operates what it calls a 'relationship lifecycle' portfolio. Ysos handles the single-and-searching segment. Sexlog serves established users exploring non-monogamy. A separate property, Pura Paixão, targets monogamous couples seeking to 'reignite' relationships. The structure allows for cross-promotion and shared infrastructure, but it also reflects a bet that relationship stages—not demographics—are the defining segmentation variable in dating technology.
That thesis contradicts the Match Group model, which segments by age (Tinder, Hinge, OurTime) and intent (Match.com for commitment, Plenty of Fish for volume). It's closer to what Feeld has attempted in the ethical non-monogamy space, building community infrastructure alongside matching technology. The difference is scale and data depth. Feeld has focused on product design and brand identity. Ysos is leaning on behavioural analytics from a user base that's already opted into explicit content and alternative relationship structures.
The US expansion comes at a peculiar moment for alternative relationship platforms. Feeld raised $10M in 2023 and claims 10 million downloads, positioning itself as the premium option for open-minded singles and couples. #Open rebranded and shut down in 2022 after failing to gain traction. Mainstream platforms have added features for non-monogamy—Tinder and Hinge both now allow users to signal interest in open relationships—but treat it as a filter option rather than a core use case.
The app store compliance problem
The Sexlog-to-Ysos pipeline highlights a structural tension in the industry. Apple's App Store policies prohibit apps whose primary purpose is facilitating sexual encounters or displaying explicit content. Google Play's rules are marginally more permissive but still restrict adult content. That forces platforms targeting casual sex and fetish communities into a bifurcated model: a sanitised dating app for acquisition, a web-based platform for monetisation.
Users don't leave because apps fail to deliver what they say they want. They leave because apps take them at their word.
It's the same compliance challenge that pushed Grindr (GRND) to separate its Tribes feature—which includes designations like 'leather' and 'poz'—from more explicit community functions. The question is whether users tolerate the friction. According to Schuck, Ysos treats the dating app as a 'gateway' to the broader Sexlog ecosystem, which suggests the company views the app store version as a top-of-funnel acquisition tool rather than a standalone product.
That model works if the economics support it. Conversion from free dating app user to paying social network member needs to hit high enough rates to justify mobile acquisition costs, which across the industry have climbed 40-60% since 2021, according to AppsFlyer data. Ysos hasn't disclosed its customer acquisition cost or lifetime value figures, which makes it difficult to assess whether the strategy is viable at scale.
Where this goes next
The US market entry is a test of whether alternative relationship platforms can grow beyond core enthusiast audiences. Feeld has positioned itself as lifestyle-forward and design-conscious, targeting urban professionals. Ysos is leaning into data and efficiency, marketing itself as the platform for people who know exactly what they want—even if they won't say it in their profile.
The competitive context is cluttered. Match Group added non-monogamy filters across its portfolio in 2023. Bumble (BMBL) has experimented with 'interest badges' that include kink-positive signalling. Mainstream platforms are trying to capture alternative relationship users without alienating their core base. Niche platforms are trying to prove they can scale without losing community identity.
Schuck's framing—that the industry's real challenge is the gap between stated and revealed preferences—cuts across that debate. If she's right, dating apps have spent a decade optimising for the wrong signals. If she's wrong, Ysos is simply another niche platform that will struggle to convert a registered user base into a sustainable business. The answer will come down to retention data the company hasn't yet shared and a US user base it hasn't yet built.
Key Takeaways
- •Dating app operators relying on self-reported user preferences face retention challenges compared to platforms using revealed behavioural signals to drive matching algorithms.
- •App store content restrictions force niche adult dating apps into bifurcated models that rely on efficient conversion from top-of-funnel mobile apps to paying web networks.
- •Mainstream platforms adding non-monogamy filters intensifies competition, forcing niche apps like Ysos to prove superior matching efficacy and user retention.
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Financial Intelligence Desk
The DII Financial Intelligence Desk covers earnings, valuations, funding and the financial performance of the global online dating industry.
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