Anti-Vax Dating Apps Are Going IRL. People Are Mad as Hell About It

As a crowd of 60 anti-vaxxers squeezed into the upstairs dining area of Jonathan’s Grille in Nashville on a recent Monday night, a moment of pride washed over Scott Armstrong.

Years ago, he had been let go from his job as a drug and alcohol counselor for refusing to get vaccinated. Now, unvaccinated people from all over the country were piling into the sports bar to meet others like them. There was a woman who flew in from New Jersey and another from Philadelphia. One group drove up from Florida.

They were there to attend a mixer hosted by Unjected, an anti-vaccination dating app that, according to its website, is “built on creating health-conscious relationships.” It was the second stop on Unjected’s four-city “Summer of Love” tour meant for singles who oppose the Covid-19 vaccine.

“We’re still some of the most persecuted people in society right now,” Armstrong, who now owns a video production company and helped organize the event, tells WIRED. “People still express this absolute hatred for us and for our beliefs in natural health. It just continues to encourage us to host these meetups.”

The reorientation around in-person events to cure app fatigue is a major trend among dating apps struggling for signs of new life. According to ticketing platform Eventbrite, IRL dating events have been on the rise since 2025. Tinder, as part of its rebrand this year, announced it was investing in member meet-ups. But singles in the anti-vax community say for them the events are about connecting with people—potentially future partners—who, above all, believe in bodily autonomy.

“This is really a pro-freedom movement. It’s not just an anti-vaccination movement,” says Shelby Hosana, the 32-year-old founder of Unjected. “Whatever goes in your body and whatever you do with your body is 100 percent your choice.”

Unjected was designed specifically for people against the Covid vaccine but, according to its site, it is against all vaccinations. Members operate on an honor system, though the app does offer a premium tier—“Unjected Verfied”—where they attest to their unvaccinated status by affidavit. In 2021, the same year it launched, Unjected was removed from the Apple App Store for violating Covid misinformation policies. The app was reaccepted into the App Store, in addition to being uploaded onto Google Play, in fall 2024, which Hosana attributes to “the timing in the world.” Donald Trump, who in the past promoted the myth that childhood vaccines were linked to autism, won reelection that November.

Covid and other vaccines have been proven safe through rigorous trial