Goose, a dating and friendship application for gay men co-founded by Derek Chadwick and David Aliagas, launched in June 2026 and rose to number 4 in the App Store's free lifestyle downloads category. The app has faced questions regarding evidence that its initial growth was promoted using a network of Instagram accounts with AI-generated profile photos.

AI Image Detector software determined with greater than 90 percent confidence that the avatars for accounts @miles.sumrall and @danielmmulugeta were AI-generated. A SynthID check on Google Gemini found that "most or all of" the profile photos for these accounts were created using Google AI. Both accounts, created in May 2026, had fewer than 10 posts. Each posted a Close Friends Story with an invite code for a "members only community." The caption read: "You're receiving this because you're exactly the type of person we're building this for."

Another account, @alistaircrombbie, sent a direct message to Ryan Cheam, an account executive in marketing and public relations, inviting him to join a "curated network of guys" at Goose. A SynthID check indicated that most or all of the @alistaircrombbie profile photo was generated using Google AI. More than two dozen Instagram accounts created in May or June 2026 were identified as similar to these profiles.

Marketing professional Dalton Bauer received a direct message from user @lucalepkowski inviting him to the Goose community. The message began: "Hey! Okay this might feel random but felt you’d be interested :)" The @lucalepkowski account was created in May 2026, and AI Image Detector software found its profile image was 80 percent likely to have been artificially generated. Google Gemini determined at least part of the photo "was edited or generated with Google AI." Bauer stated, "This is the first time I’ve seen this on Instagram, and at this scale." He added, "I think someone needs to shed light on this as it’s shady and deceiving."

User @pspthe2nd posted on X, alleging that Goose uses AI models to promote fake interest. Goose's Instagram account gained nearly 10,000 followers after June 12. Last month, Chadwick posted a selfie video stating he had been single for two years and asked, "How come there's no cool gay dating apps in 2026?"

Chadwick stated in an interview, "While we can't control individual user behavior, we've designed Goose from the ground up to move away from the transactional, high-pressure dynamics of traditional dating apps." He added, "Our goal is to create an experience that reflects real-life connection, where people can engage more authentically, discover shared interests, and build relationships at their own pace." The app uses the slogan "for the boys," logged 56,000 pre-downloads before launch, and does not charge membership fees. It is currently ranked 33rd in global lifestyle app downloads and is available only on Apple's App Store.