Lex is a lo-fi, text-based dating and social app for lesbian, bisexual, asexual, and queer people. Lex is for womxn and trans, genderqueer, intersex, two spirit, and non-binary people for meeting lovers and friends. Inspired by old school newspaper personal ads, Lex (formerly known as Personals) lived on Instagram for years before evolving into an app. (you can still find us on Instagram @lex.app)
Lex—short for lexicon—is the only dating and social app where the text comes first and the selfies, second.
Lex adheres to a zero tolerance policy towards creeps: no transphobia, no racism, no fatphobia, no ableism. No hate speech of any kind. We reserve the right to delete personals or missed connections for any reason. A healthy, loving community is our top priority.
Lex is funded by a successful 2018 Kickstarter campaign and queer community members who contributed $5-$10 to post ads on the Personals Instagram. We are currently in search of investors, please get in touch!
Herstory of Lex
Lex (formerly known as PERSONALS) was inspired by the personal ads in On Our Backs, a women-run erotica magazine of the ’80s and ’90s. The personals were written by lesbians and detailed their desires and romantic requirements. In 2017, Kell Rakowski—founder of the lesbian culture Instagram @h_e_r_s_t_o_r_y—began sharing vintage personal ads from On Our Backs on Instagram. The response was so enthusiastic, Rakowski decided to ask @h_e_r_s_t_o_r_y followers to submit their own personal ads. It was an instant hit. The ads quickly outgrew @h_e_r_s_t_o_r_y and warranted their own account, @_Personals_. By 2018, the number of submissions overwhelmed the Personals Instagram. Rakowski resolved to build an app to accommodate the growing Personals community.
Yes! It’s available free to download for Android and iOS users worldwide.
18+
Click the flag icon at the bottom left of each personal or missed connection to report. You can add a reason or simply press “report.” The ad will be taken down immediately and the admin will then review. You can also report user profiles, click the flag icon at the top right of profile.
Connect your Instagram account in your profile, you can edit and update this link as needed.
Lex app will evolve in response to what works best for our community. Please email any comments, ideas for features, questions, and concerns to hello@thisislex.app.
Follow @lex.app on Instagram
A hearty thanks to Anita Osuala for assisting in all things Personals Instagram/Lex App and to Lisha Payne for tech support.
A special thanks to Andrew LeClair and Anna Feng for design and development.
And a super thanks to Rafal Zawadzki and Abhilasha Roy for their engineering and UX design work.
Photography by Christelle deCastro