W | Bear

gNetLabs, Inc.

Contains adsIn-app purchases

About this app

Discover W | Bear, the social networking app designed by bears, for the gay bear community. Build meaningful connections, share your world, chat with friends, and explore events – all in one inclusive space.


Meet & Connect
• Find friendly faces nearby or around the world.
• Explore profiles with shared interests and values.
• Start conversations and build lasting connections.

Share & Explore
• Share photos and videos that reflect who you are.
• Interact with posts by liking and commenting.
• Use tags to connect with others who share your identity and interests.

Stay in the Loop
• Discover local and global bear events – from casual meetups to big celebrations.
• Find out who’s attending and connect before the fun begins.

Celebrate Diversity
• However you identify – bear, cub, otter, chaser, or beyond – you’re welcome here.
• Be part of a community rooted in friendship, authenticity, and mutual respect.

Easy to Use
• Create your profile in minutes.
• Navigate smoothly with intuitive tools and design.
• Continue conversations across devices without missing a beat.


W | Bear is free to download and open to individuals 18 and older. Premium subscriptions are available for an enhanced experience.

W | Bear Terms of Service: http://wnet.lgbt/tos.html
W | Bear EULA: http://wnet.lgbt/eula.html

Continued use of GPS running in the background can dramatically decrease battery life.

Ratings and reviews

Somewhat like Instagram but for bears. I like the interface, though it's not very polished. Going back from looking at a certain picture on a person's profile always goes to the top of their page. They really need to figure out their servers, too, because most of the time it takes a ridiculously long time to load anything. Looking at a picture can take like 30 seconds. Often it says "failed to send message." Doesn't let me use my own gallery app, can't see hidden folders.

Somehow, after 8 years of using the app, I've hit the seemingly arbitrary point where I can't request picture unlocks any more. The subscription price is way too high, and it's not like any of that money goes to the people who create the actual value of the subscription anyway (the people posting pictures and videos). The Internet is full of bears posting pictures. You don't need this app for that.

It's yet another Gay App. Most stuff is hidden behind a paywall, just like any other similar app. The problem I have is that it's very laggy and it got bugs. Sometimes when you log you will get push notifications from all precious messages you've received... Every single one. So you might end up having your phone beeping for 5 minutes straight. It also suffers from "You received a message" but the inbox show no message, the inbox icon shows there's something in the inbox, but there's no new messages. At times your messages you send to someone else triggers the push notification and it looks like you messages yourself. I would not pay for premium until they sort out the bugs.

What’s new

Most of this update came from your reports — thank you.

• Chats: delivered and read ticks are back
• Chats: unread counts are right at last
• Chats: filter to unread, and pull down to refresh
• Chats: a banner when a message arrives while you're elsewhere
• Timeline: new activity appears straight away; pull to refresh
• Fixed a crash when adding a photo, plus stability fixes
• Dark mode, links and translations fixed
• New: become a tester from the menu