Ever wondered how celebrities and famous people hook up? Some use Tinder, but quite a lot of them use the exclusive dating app, Raya…

Ever wondered if famous people, like movie stars and such, have their own exclusive social network outside of Facebook and Instagram? Turns out they do; it’s called Raya and it is basically like Tinder-meets-Facebook, only for famous people and celebrities.

Started in 2015, Raya is a private membership social network. It costs $7.99 a month and is only available on Apple’s iOS platform – so iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch. And you probably won’t be able to join. Why? Because like the freemasons, it is pretty exclusive. You can only join if referred by an existing user or you’re invited by the platform to join.

The owners of Raya DO NOT advertise. They also explain tell all of its users to not advertise the platform, talk about it, or share screenshots of the application online. As I said: it’s all very secretive. As business models go, Raya’s is basically gold – you have a bunch of A-Listers, film stars, and celebrities under one roof.

Famous People on Raya App:

Ben Affleck
Channing Tatum
Joe Jonas
Demi Lovato
Nicole Byer
Keke Palmer
Sharon Stone
Moby
Lily Allen
Cara Delevingne
Matthew Perry
Raven-Symoné
Jack Whitehall
Niall Horan
Emily Atack
Emma Watson
Tom Felton
Whitney Cummings
Nikki Glaser
Bob Saget

That’s like something straight out of a marketer’s wet dream. To date, Raya has generated millions of dollars in investment and funding. But there’s still very little known about the company; it doesn’t even have a profile on CrunchBase. Although it did acquire Chime video a few years back. Other than that, Raya is pretty much an unknown entity – and I think that’s the way the company wants to remain.

How Do I Join Raya? Is There A Secret Handshake?

You don’t need a master’s understanding of Kabbalah, nor do you need to know any secret handshakes. But the criteria for getting accepted in Raya is pretty darn steep. For starters, you’ll need A LOT of Instagram followers – anywhere from 10,000 to 250,000, though 250,000 and higher is better.

Got the followers? Great. Now you need to apply. And that’s not exactly easy; you either need to invited by an existing member or invited by the platform itself. Once you have an invite, you will then need to submit and essay on why you think you should be allowed to become a part of the Raya community. Apparently human sacrifices are not required, apparently, so that’s something.

Setting Up Your Raya Profile

On the off chance you make it, the next thing you need to do is set-up your Raya profile. This step is fairly simple, however, and involves selecting a bunch of your Instagram posts (there will appear on your profile’s wall) and then picking some music that plays when someone views your profile. The idea here is simple: converting what you’re about, what you like, and what kind of jams you like.

Discussing Raya and what it stands for, the company’s COO Jared Morgenstern told Tech-Crunch the following: “Raya is a utility for introducing you to people who can change your life. Soho House uses physical space, we’re trying to use software.”

And on the subject of Raya community rules, he added: “This is an intimate community with zero-tolerance for disrespect or mean-spirited behavior. Be nice to each other. Say hello like adults.”

That means no sleaze, no cheesy pick-up lines. Raya is attempting to create a safe, albeit prohibitively exclusive place for like-minded people to meet and collaborate. And like the freemasons, it’s made up of similar types of people – rich, influential people – so it’s a great place to make connections and swim with other potential influencers.

But what if you’re a poor bum that has no social media followers and can’t grow a twirly mustache? Well, you’re kind of out of luck. Raya is all about exclusivity, and you can’t have exclusivity without keeping the riffraff out. Like a country club, the likes of you and I are surplus to requirements, so, for now, we’re stuck with the rest of the proletariat on Tinder and Instagram.

Raya Connects You To People Literally Around The Corner

Running an exclusive dating/meet-up app that has fewer members has a few distinct benefits over a mass-market product like Tinder. And Raya uses this to its advantage. The app features a GPS-powered feature that shows you fellow Raya users that are nearby. You can then view their profile and, if you like the look of them and their music tastes, you can reach and connect, maybe go and get a green juice together or something?

Tinder cannot do this. It has too many users; a feature like this on Tinder would be infinitely creepier and weird. Having fewer users allows Raya to introduce features like this because it has more control and visibility over who’s using its services. The idea here to help locals find and create communities within their existing communities – you know, just with all the plebs and ugly people.

But You Have To Be In The Right Place To Use This Secret iPhone Dating App…

In order for Raya to actually work, you need to be located in the right kind of place – thing LA or New York, not a small little town 100 miles outside Chicago. You can still join if you live in the sticks, Raya isn’t limited to certain places, countries, or locales. You’ll just get way more out of it if you’re in a place like LA and New York, as that’s where all the stars, influencers, and shot-callers live.

And if you want to try and join Raya, you can do so by clicking here.

Or, if you’d prefer a viable alternative to Tinder that takes a more focussed, holistic approach to meeting and dating like-minded people, and doesn’t require an essay before you join, check out Do U Like – it’s a really great dating app, especially if you’re bored of Tinder and all the usual online dating haunts.