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Hey! VINA, the app that let women swipe their way to new friends, is closing, and nobody has published the date. Its own site says the service ran for about nine years and is moving on to a “next chapter.” It doesn't say when it stopped, what happens to accounts, or what comes next. Below is what we could verify, one thing worth checking if you ever paid for it, and our view on where to go: replace the job VINA did for you, not the app itself.
What we could verify
- The maker says it's ending. VINA's site carries a farewell note describing about nine years of service and a next chapter. It names no date, no successor and no account instructions. A download button still sits on the same page, and the FAQ says nothing about a shutdown, so the site contradicts itself.
- A competitor says it closed. Gofrendly, a rival women's friendship app, published a post dated December 26, 2024 telling VINA members the app is shutting down and inviting them over. It blames operational and product problems, which is Gofrendly's explanation, not VINA's.
- Old copies are still floating around. Archive sites such as Uptodown and Aptoide still list old VINA files, and a Play Store tracker we checked says the app isn't on Google Play. We couldn't open the App Store listing, so we can't confirm its status there.
Our read is that it's closed and the exact day is unconfirmed. We have not used the app ourselves.
If you paid for VIP, check your subscriptions
VINA's FAQ lists VIP plans at $5.99 a week, about $30 every three months, about $48 every six months, and a $199 lifetime option. It also says that deleting the app or your account doesn't cancel a VIP subscription, which is the part that surprises people. Open Settings on your iPhone, tap your name, then Subscriptions, and confirm nothing from VINA is still listed. Refunds on Apple charges go through Apple, per VINA's own FAQ.
Skip the archive downloads
If you search for the app, you'll find mirror sites offering old versions. We haven't scanned any of them, and a closed app has no one left to match you with, so there's nothing to gain and an unmaintained file is a real risk. Stay with the official stores.
What VINA was, briefly
An early Digital Trends profile tells the story. It first appeared around January 2016, went global on iOS in September 2016 and reached Android by October 2017. You signed up with Facebook, built a profile and swiped to connect with women near you. The company reported about 100,000 iOS downloads in its first week and claimed more than a million potential friendships across 158 countries. Those are the company's figures, not audited ones.
Replace the job, not the app
This is our framework, not a research finding. VINA did three jobs at once, and each has a different home now.
| The job VINA did | Where it lives now | Catch |
|---|---|---|
| One-to-one swiping for women friends | Bumble BFF; Gofrendly, which pitches itself as a VINA replacement | Bumble BFF has changed shape, see our review. We haven't reviewed Gofrendly, and it's a competitor of ours as well. |
| A women-only community | Peanut, if motherhood is your common ground | Narrower audience. Peanut review |
| Getting you out the door | Hosted dinners and recurring groups | Costs money or time. Timeleft review |
Notice what the first row is missing. A swipe-and-chat app gives you a match and nothing that makes the second meeting happen, which is probably why that format keeps dying, and why lists of friendship apps go stale so quickly. The friendships that last in our reading are anchored to something that recurs, a class, a group, a standing table. That's our opinion, not a measured result. Our full ranking is in the best friendship apps of 2026.
Before you download any friendship app
A three-signal check, which is also our own rule of thumb. First, does the maker's own site say the service is live, with a recent update or post? Second, does the store listing show a recent update? Third, are the “best apps” posts recommending it dated after that update? If the third answer is yes and the first two are no, you're reading a zombie listicle.
Honest limits
We couldn't find a shutdown date, an official reason, or a statement about user data. VINA's farewell note and its FAQ disagree about whether the app is live. The one source for why it closed is a competitor. We couldn't open the App Store listing, and our description of VINA's history rests on a single early article. NexSpark Friends is also a way to meet friends, so weigh our suggestions with that in mind. We used no NexSpark member data.
Common questions
Is Hey! VINA still available?
We treat it as closed. VINA's own site says the service ran for about nine years and is moving to a next chapter, and a competitor's post dated December 26, 2024 says the app is shutting down. Neither gives an exact date, so we can't say the day it stopped working.
Why did Hey! VINA shut down?
We don't know. VINA's farewell notice gives no reason. Gofrendly, a competing app, attributes the closure to operational and product problems, but that comes from a company that wants VINA's users and isn't an official explanation.
Do I need to cancel my Hey! VINA VIP subscription?
Check. VINA's FAQ says deleting the app or your account doesn't cancel a VIP subscription, and that cancellations go through your Apple ID settings. Open your subscriptions list on your iPhone and confirm nothing from VINA is still listed.
Is there an app like Hey! VINA?
Yes, but each covers only part of what VINA did. Bumble BFF and Gofrendly are the closest one-to-one options, Peanut is built around motherhood, and Timeleft and similar services put you at a real table. Which fits depends on the job you wanted VINA to do.
Sources
- Hey! VINA, heyvina.com and its FAQ, read October 24, 2026.
- Gofrendly, When one door closes, another opens: a warm welcome to Hey Vina members, December 26, 2024. A competitor's post.
- Digital Trends, Find your next best friend with Hey! Vina, the app for female friendship.