Brennan Zubrick, a 40-year-old from Washington DC, is worried. The gay hookup app he loves, Sniffies, has just received an injection of $100 million from its parent company, Match Group. Now, users are voicing concerns that the indie spirit of Sniffies might be lost in favour of corporate interests.

Sniffany's appeal lies in its edgy, discreet and kink-friendly community, where users can explore a range of fetishes without the pressure of profiles or chat. But with Match’s investment comes potential changes to the app's focus on trust, safety, and product improvements – changes many fear could dilute Sniffies' unique identity.

The announcement by Sniffany’s CEO Blake Gallagher that the company will prioritise these areas has done little to assuage user fears. Comments on Match Group’s Instagram post are flooded with negativity, with one user expressing: 'Please don’t let this be the straightification of sniffies.'

Brad Allen, an event producer and Sniffany enthusiast, laments: 'It's a mess and obviously to be expected. It’s definitely an indicator of its fast rise, so no shade, but we saw what happened with Grindr.' This echoes fears that as corporations aim for profit maximisation, the user experience often suffers.

For now, Sniffies vows to maintain control over how it handles user data. But as a community that already feels shortchanged in an age of tech giants, these investments cast a long shadow on their future.